*iV 



«^' 







VH 






HIS EXCELLENCY, II. C. STUART, GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 

The largest exporter in America of beef eattle direct from liis own lihie- 

grnss pustiiress 



A HAND BOOK 
OF VIRGINIA 

SIXTH EDITION 1915 



Published by the Department 
of Agriculture and Immigration 
of the State of Virginia -:- -:- 




GEO. W. KOINER, Commissioner 

RICHMOND 



RICHMOND: 

DAVIS BOTTOM, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC PRINTING 

1915. 



VIRGINIA 

Department of Agriculture and 
Immigration 



GEORGE W. KOINER, Commissioner. 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION. 



MEMBERS 



DISTRICT 



P. 0. ADDRESS 



A. J. McMATH 

FRANK LINDSAY . . . . 

J. S. TAYLOR 

R. M. WILLIAMS 

BERKLEY D. ADAMS. 

R. H. ANGELL 

J. JAMES MILLER. ... 
ROBERT H. GRAY. ... 

HENRY BOWEN 

W. W. SPROUL 

J. D. BGGLESTON 



First Congressional District. 
Second Congressional District. 
Third Congressional District, 
fourth Congressional District 
Fifth Congressional District... 
Sixth Congressional District... 
Seventh Congressional District 
Eighth Congressional District 
Ninth Congressional District. 
Tenth Congressional District. 
President V. P. I. (ex-ofhcio) . 



Onley 

Portsmouth 

Beach 

Crewe 

Red Oak 

Roanoke 

Hawlin 

Leesburg 

Wittens Mill 

Middlebrook 

Blacksburg 



OFFICERS OF THE BOARD 

President, BERKLEY D. ADAMS, Red Oah, Va, 
Secretary, W. W, SPROUL, Middlebrook, Va. 



D. of ^* 



N 



HAND BOOK OF VIRGINIA 




HE agricultural progress of Virginia during the past few 
years has been unprecedented in the history of the State. 
Better farming can be seen on every hand. This has 
been brought about by diversification of crops and the 
great variety that are now being grown in Virginia; by 
the use of modern labor-saving machinery and the adoption of scien- 
tific methods in improvement and cultivation of the soil; by the 
improvement in breeding of live stock and the growing of more 
forage and grass crops, and by large increase in orchards and the 
great development in the trucking fields. 

The prospects for the future far surpass the achievements of 
the past. Few States possess agricultural advantages superior to 
Virginia. She has every variety of soil, condition and climate in- 
cident to the temperate zone. Virginia, with all the majesty of her 
glorious history, and with all the blood-quickening influences of 
her traditions, no longer appeals to sentiment in advancing her 
claims for recognition. Long since she hats taught the world to 
realize that her worth is based on more substantial things — that in 
her favored clime the willing worker, whatever his vocation, finds 
the certain road to prosperity and success. 

Nor is Virginia's story of progress told alone by her plantations, 
her forests, her mines and her sail-flecked waters, for her cities have 
grown apace with her many agricultural and industrial enterprises. 
Today they are teaming with life, and their railroads, factories and 
mammoth manufacturing plants throbbingly demonstrate the pro- 
gressiveness of the State. 

Virginia Hospitality. 

In a section where hospitality for centuries has been one of the 
dominant characteristics of the people, it is not surprising that 
Virginia's new comers, once settled within her borders, find them- 
selves comfortably established for life. Yet the satisfaction felt in 
their changed sphere by these strangers is due to something more 
than the cordial attitude of the native people. 

The homeseeker on reaching the Old Dominion discovers an 
inspiring field for his endeavors. He finds a huge area of land yet 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



awaiting cultivation — land which, despite its richness, may be ac- 
quired at figures so low as almost to suggest a prodical disregard 
of its value. He finds, too, that geographical divisions of the State 
lead to many lines of agricultural enterprise. Some coming to 
Virginia from distant lands have prospered most in the raising of 
cattle, swine and poultry, or through the sale of dairy products; 
others have rapidly acquired wealth through their orchards or 
truck farms, while a more conservative element has thriven along 
the old paths of agriculture with the general crops. 

Virginia the Best State to Live In. 

No State in the Union offers more attractive inducements or 
extends a more inviting hand to the homeseeker and investor than 
Virginia. In climate, diversity of soils, fruits, forests, water sup- 
ply, mineral deposits and variety of landscape she offers advan- 
tages that are unsurpasse.l. 

The sun never illumined a more beautiful country, the plow- 
man never turned a kinder soil, and the stranger never shook the 
hand of a more hospitable people. 

Virginia is most centrally located in the Atlantic tier of States, 
being midway between Maine and Florida. It lies between the 
extreme of cold and heat, removed alike from the sultry, protracted 
summers of the more Southern States and the severe winters and 
devastating storms and cyclones of the north and west; the num- 
ber of murky, foggy days is very small and conversely the number 
of sunny days is very large. Along the Blue Ridge mountains there 
is a belt of country from 1,000 to 2,500 feet above the sea level in 
which the humidity is exceedingly small, less than in any section 
east of the Rocky mountains, and the number of bright, sunny 
days is very large. This region has but little dew at night, owing 
to its low humidity, and is very beneficial to the people of weak 
lungs. 

Virginia is today the richest State in the south except one, and 
is growing each year more rapidly in wealth and population. The 
skies of Virginia are illumined with hope, and her people, conser- 
vatively and courageously, are each year building a broader, a 
richer and a greater Commonwealth. 

Parties purchasing farm land in Virginia are requested to send 
me their names and permanent Virginia address to be put on the 
regular mailing list of the Department of Agriculture for such 
bulletins as we issue monthly on practical farm subjects, fertilizer 
and seed analyses. 

G. W. KOINEE^ 

Commissioner. 



-— ^-^-S^g^T-.^^^- ■ W----^ | 






^ 







t 




Hand Boole of Virginia 



Virginia As a Home. 

The Old Dominion offers greater inducements to the homeseeker 
than any other State. Her mild climate, pure water and productive 
soil make her almost a paradise for those who want to enjoy life 
on the farm and at the same time accumulate a competence. No 
matter what line of farming you desire to follow here may be found 
the conditions suited to it. As a live stock country no State sur- 
passes her. For the production of grain crops she has no superior 
and few equals. Cotton and tobacco are produced very profitably. 
As to the production of fruit, she is already gaining a worldwide 
reputation. Some of the largest commercial orchards have produced 
an annual income of from $300 to $500 per acre. This fruit has 
been produced on lands that a few years ago sold for $10 to $20 
per acre, and there are yet thousands of acres of land that can be 
purchased at low figures that will produce as fine fruit as any of 
the bearing orchards. The fruit grower can find no greater induce- 
ments than are found in the "Old Dominion." "Why go to the 
Northwest and purchase high-priced lands, grow fruit and ship it 
four thousand miles when better fruit can be grown on these cheap 
lands, with the markets at the door? 

Very Cheap Lands. 

In the West and Middle West lands have become so high that a 
poor man cannot buy a burying ground; but here in Virginia lands 
have not risen proportionately, due to the fact, largely, that the 
march of civilization has been westward in the past. Ours might 
properly be called the "overlooked land." Lands can be bought 
here all the way from $20 to $100 per acre, and the production of 
same will be equal to or greater than it is on lands in other sec- 
tions costing several times those amounts. 

No State can boast of producing so great a variety of farm 
products. One farmer for several years has had an exhibit at the 
State Fair of 350 products, all of which was produced on a farm 
that twenty-five years ago was practically abandoned. 

In many sections of the State, where proper care has been exer- 
cised in the growing of cover crops, grazing can be practiced all 
the year. This reduces the cost of raising live stock to the mini- 
mum. The winters here are so mild that the ground is scarcely ever 
covered with snow, and consequently live stock do not require much 
rough feed or housing. 

One line of live stock husbandry that is V'ery profitable here is 
that of raising hogs. The fact that the food for the hog can be 
grown on the farm and consumed without harvesting should appeal 



Department of Agriculture 



to every hog raiser. Here the hog brings in a good return and does 
all the work hmiself. This is true of but few sections of this 
country. 

Virginia is. spending vast sums of money upon her public high- 
ways and schools, and this tends to make the State still a better 
place in which to live. 




^-.^'^ 



Highway improvement in Virginia. 



Favorable Location 




lEGINIA is one of the Middle Atlantic States of the 
United States of America, lying midway between Maine 
on the north and Florida on the south. It is also in the 
belt of central States across the continent from east to 
west. 

On the south it adjoins North Carolina for 326 miles and Ten- 
nessee for 114 miles, making the line of the State from the Atlantic 
west 440 miles ; on the west and northwest, Kentucky for 115 miles 
and West Virginia (by a very irregular line) for 450 miles, form 
the boundary. Maryland is northwest and north, separated by the 
Potomac and Chesapeake Bay for 2C5 miles from Virginia (to 
which these waters belong) and by a line of 25 miles across the 
Eastern Shore. East and southeast it is bordered by the Atlantic 
for 125 miles. The boundary lines of the State measure about 1,400 
miles. On the northwest they are mostly mountain ranges; on the 
northeast and east, by salt water. 

Natural Divisions. 

There are five great natural divisions of the territory of Vir- 
ginia—first, the Tidewater Country, or Tidewater; second, the Mid- 
dle Country, or Middle Virginia; third, the Piedmont Country, or 
Piedmont ; fourth, the great Valley of Virginia, or the Valley ; fifth, 
the Appalachian Country, or Southwest Virginia. 

Tidewater Counties. 

Accomac, Northampton, King George, Westmoreland, Northum- 
berland, Kichmond, Lancaster, Essex, King and Queen, Middlesex, 
Mathews, Gloucester, King William, New Kent, James City, Charles 
City, Prince George, Surry, Isle of Wight, Sussex, York, Warwick, 
Princess Anne, Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Nansemond, Southampton 
and Greensville. 

Middle Virginia. 

Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, 
Caroline, Louisa, Fluvanna, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Powha- 
tan, Buckingham, Cumberland, Chesterfield, Amelia, Appomattox, 



Hand Booh of Virginia 11 

Nottoway, Dinwiddie, Campbell, Prince Edward, Charlotte, Lunen- 
burg, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Halifax and Pittsylvania. 

Piedmont Virginia. 

Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison, Greene, Orange, Albe- 
marle, Nelson, Amherst, Bedford, Franklin, Patrick, Henry and 
Rappahannock. 

The Valley. 

Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rockingham, 
Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Roanoke. 

AppalacMa or Southwest Virginia. 

Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Craig, Montgomery, Floyd, Carroll, 
Grayson, Pulaski, "Wythe, Giles, Bland, Smyth, Tazewell, Washing- 
ton, Russell, Scott, Buchanan, Wise, Lee and Dickenson. 

Tidewater Virginia. 

Tidewater Virginia, comprising that section of the State lying 
mainly east of a line drawn north and south through her capital 
city, Richmond, is esteemed by its residents — and by many of its 
non-residents also — as the garden spot, not only of Virginia, but 
of the entire country as well. 

Historically, they go back to the days of John Smith, of Poca- 
hontas and of the cavaliers ; to Jamestown, where English civiliza- 
tion was first permanently planted in America, and to Williams- 
burg ; to her House of Burgesses, where the first faint cry of liberty 
and equalit}^ was heard Avithin her borders ; to those immortals, 
Washington, Jefferson and Henry. 

This section is divided by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, 
and the large tidal rivers that flow into that great estuarj^, into 
nine principal and a large number of secondary peninsulas. This 
is mainly an alluvial country, a portion of the tertiary Atlantic 
tidewater plain, and its surface, composed of sands and clays, is 
thrown into low, flat ridges, forming the watershed of the penin- 
sulas, succeeded by terraces and plains down to the water's edge, 
where they meet the swamps and salt marshes that always accom- 
pany well-developed, land-locked, tidal waters. This is the clay, 
marl and sand region. 

The natural resources of this section are unsurpassed. Her 
waters abound with fish, oysters, clams and crabs. Upon these 
waters and in her marshes millions of water fowl and wild birds 
feed and have their nesting places. 

Winter and summer resorts of both health and pleasure are 



12 Department of Agriculture 



scattered along her surf-bound shores, where thousands of pros- 
perous people throng every season for health and pleasure or profit. 

From her forests millions of feet of lumber are cut and mar- 
keted annually. Millions are still standing, awaiting the stroke of 
the woodman's axe. 

This is the greatest trucking section in the world. Upon her 
fields may be seen corn, wheat, alfalfa, clover, grass of splendid 
quality. 

With more than three thousand square miles of salt water bot- 
tom, of which four thousand acres are set aside for oyster planting 
purposes and some 200,000 as a natural reserve, we can fairly claim 
this to be the greatest oyster section in the world. 

The Chesapeake Bay and her many estuaries, which bear an- 
nually $125,000,000 of foreign commerce, produces annually about 
$15,000,000 of oysters, crabs and fish, in the gathering of which 
about $4,000,000 are invested. The county of Accomac alone pro- 
duces 75 per cent, of the soft shell crabs consumed in the United 
States. 

Middle Virginia. 

This section is a great, moderately undulating plain, from 25 to 
100 miles wide, rising to the northwest from an elevation of 150 
feet above tide at the rock rim of its eastern margin, to from 300 
to 500 along its northwestern. The principal streams, as a rule, 
cross it at right angles; so it is a succession of ridges and valleys 
running southeast and northwest, the valleys often narrow and 
deep, but the ridges generally not very prominent. 

The middle country extends westward from the "head of the 
tide" to the foot of the low, broken ranges that extend across 
the State southwest from the Potomac, near the northern corner 
of Fairfax to the North Carolina line, near the southwest corner 
of Pittsylvania, coming to the eastern line of the Appalachian 
system, and that may with propriety be called the Atlantic coast 
range. 

It is considered one of the finest general farming sections in 
the State. Tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, grass and peanuts are its 
chief products. It is also considered by experts to be especially 
adapted to dairy farming. Its railroad facilities, nearness to the 
markets and the responsiveness of its soil make it an ideal home 
for the farmer. Its natural water power and factory sites are un- 
surpassed; splendid schools and churches, road building and im- 
proved methods of farming are making this one of the greatest 
sections of the State. No other portion of the State has shown 
more rapid progress than Middle Virginia in the last few years. 



Hand Bool: of Virginia 13 



Piedmont Virginia. 

This section is the long belt of country stretching for 244 miles 
from the banks of the Potomac and the Maryland line southwest, 
along the eastern base of the Blue Ridge mountains, and between 
them and the coast range to the banks of the Dan at the North 
Carolina line; it varies in width from 20' to 30 miles, averaging 
about 25 ; its approximate area is 6,680 square miles. 

This Piedmont country is the fifth step of the great stairway 
ascending to the west. Its eastern edge along Middle Virginia is 
from 300 to 500 feet above the sea; then come the broken ranges 
of the coast mountains, rising as detached or connected knobs in 
lines or groups from 100 to 600 feet higher. These are succeeded 
by the numberless valleys of all imaginable forms— some long, 
straight and wide, others narrow and widening, others again oval 
and almost enclosed, locally known as ''coves," that extend across 
to and far into the Blue Ridge, the spurs of which often reach out 
southwardly for miles, ramifying in all directions. Portions of the 
Piedmont form widely-extended plains. The land west of the coast 
ranges is generally from 300 to 500 feet above the sea, and rises 
to the west until, at the foot of the Blue Ridge, it attains an eleva- 
tion of from 600 to 1,200 feet. 

Numerous streams have their origin in the heads of the gorges 
on the Blue Ridge, and most of them flow across the Piedmont 
to the southwest, uniting and forming some one of the well-known 
rivers that cross Middle, and even Tidewater, Virginia, like the 
Roanoke or Staunton and the James. Some of these rivers break 
through the Blue Ridge from the valley, making water-gaps in that 
formidable mountain barrier, as the Potomac, the James and the 
Roanoke; but they all follow the rule above given in their way 
across this section. This is a genuine "Piedmont" country, sur- 
passing in beauty of scenery and choice of prospect, so that it has 
always been a favorite section with men of refinement in which to 
fix their homes. 

It has an average rainfall of 45 inches, and never suffers from 
a consuming drought, such as they have in some parts of the west. 
The climate in summer is tempered 'hj mountain breezes, and in 
winter it enjoys the protection of the Blue Ridge from the bliz- 
zards of the north and west. Shown by the government statistics 
' to be the most healthful belt in the United States. One of the 
arguments Thomas Jefferson used for locating the University of 
Virginia in this section was the pre-eminent healthfulness of the 
climate. 

The soil is of great natural fertility and is generally under- 



Hand Booh of Virginia 15 



laid with red clay, which carries enough free lime and potash for 
ordinary agricultural use. The mineral wealth of this section has 
been only partly developed. There are deposits of iron, manganese, 
copper, zinc, phosphate, potter's clay, marble and soapstone. The 
water powers of this section are of great value, but are still un- 
developed. All of the rivers that flow from the Blue Ridge are 
fed by never-failing streams, and their fall is rapid. There are 
some flourishing manufactories. The largest and most successful 
boot and shoe factories in the United States, with one exception, 
are located in Lynchburg, and the best woolen mills — "all wool, 
and a yard wdde" — are situated at Charlottesville. The finest- 
flavored apples in the world are grown in this section. Experts 
the world over recognize this fact. It is not simply that the Albe- 
marle Pippin was Queen Victoria's favorite of all apples that has 
made it the most famous apple in the world. The high quality 
which gained the flavor of the good queen has kept it in the front 
ranks beyond all competitors. The pasture fields of this section 
afford fine grazing for cattle and sheep. 

The Valley of Virginia. 

Washington, in his letter to Sir John Sinclair, written 1796, 
said of this beautiful country: "In soil, climate and productions 
will be considered, if not so already, the garden-spot of America." 
Its natural Blue Grass land, the home of the stock raiser and 
dairyman ; its heavy clay land, fat in fertilizing ingredients, always 
repaying the labor spent on them in crops of corn and wheat; 
its splendid soil for fruit growing; its nearness to the big markets, 
have made this section famous. The Valley is said by experts 
from the Agricultural Department in Washington to contain a 
large area of apple land, the equal of any in the world. Many 
parts of this A^alley, especially Augusta and Frederick counties, 
are becoming a vast orchard. Frederick and Augusta counties 
each produced last fall about 250,000 barrels. 

Harrisonburg is perhaps the greatest horse market in the State, 
and is making wonderful progress and growth. The Valley has a 
homogenous white population, industrious, honest and intelligent, 
and is entering upon a career of prosperity the equal of any sec- 
tion in the State. 

Lexington is the educational center of the Valley. The Vir- 
ginia Military Institute and the Washington and Lee University 
are within her borders. No section has superior social and edu- 
cational advantages. 



16 Department of Agriculture 

Appalachia or Southwest Virginia. 

Just west of the great Valley of Virginia lies a mountainous 
section of country, traversed its whole length by the Appalachian 
system of mountains, known as Appalachia or Southwest Virginia. 
In altitude it varies from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea level and 
presents a great variety of soils. Appalachia is an abundantly 
watered region and few stockmen or farmers ever think of fencing 
in a field that has not one or more springs or branches. This irreg- 
ular belt of country is 260 miles long. 

This section has the unique distinction of being the only sec- 
tion in the United States which ships export cattle direct from the 
blue grass pasture fields to foreign ports. The Norfolk and "Western 
Eailway, which traverses this section, reports 2,500 carloads of 
export cattle and steers shipped during twelve months; spring 
lambs and sheep, 935 carloads; horses and mules, 333 carloads, 
and hogs, 4,652,702 pounds. 

The mountains of this section cover untold wealth of minerals 
and coal, and the best soft steam coal that reaches the markets of 
the world comes from Appalachia Virginia. 

The growing of cabbage and late potatoes have lately become 
a large and prosperous industry in this section of Virginia. One 
station shipped 1,250 carloads in one year, and the Norfolk and 
"Western report, above referred to, gives the shipment of cabbage 
for the same period. Many carloads of cabbage are shipped to 
Cuba. 

Seldom is found such pleasant blending of agricultural wealth 
and untold mineral deposits, with unlimited water power, awaiting 
the command of genius and capital to utilize it to commercial 
advantage. 





The Virginia Winesap Apple. 



Natural Resources and Commercial 
Possibilities 




IRGINIA is possessed of au abundance and variety of 
mineral materials, many of wliich have been worked 
since early colonial days, especially the coal, iron ores 
and brick clays. About forty mineral materials are now 
exploited, many of them on a large scale, which afford 
a basis of important commercial enterprises, and give to the State 
prominence in a varied and extensive mining industry, which 
amounts annually to more than $20,000,000. 

Mining of iron ore in Virginia in 1609 by the Jamestown colo- 
nists was the first iron ore mined in the United States. At pres- 
ent the total number of blast furnaces in the State is twenty-six. 
The commercial deposits of iron ore in Virginia are confined to 
the Piedmont and Appalachian region. The annual production of 
iron ores in Virginia amounts to about 725,000 long tons, valued 
at approximately $1,500,000. The production of pig iron in Vir- 
ginia is valued at about $9,000,000. 

Virginia has long held the position of first producer of pyrite 
(iron sulphide used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid) among 
pyrite-producing States in the United States. Commercial pyrite 
occurs in Louisa, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Prince William coun- 
ties, and mines ate opened in each county. The pj^rite mines of 
Louisa and PrJ-ice William counties are the largest ones in the 
United States. Pyrrhotite, magnetic pyrite, used for the same pur- 
pose as pyrite, occurs in great abundance in Floyd, Carroll and 
Grayson counties. The annual production of pyrite and pyrrhotite 
in Virginia exceeds $400,000 in value. 

Gold in Fauquier, Stafford, Culpeper, Orange, Spotsylvania, 
Louisa, Fluvanna, Goochland and Buckingham counties. Gold 
mining in the State dates from the year 1831, and from 1831 to 
1850 the production was reasonably steady, the annual value being 
between $50,000 and $100,000. At present the production is very 
small, but considerable activity is now being manifested in the 
mines of this belt, which should yield steady and profitable returns 
if properly managed. Copper ores are found in parts of Halifax, 
Charlotte, Warren, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Madison, Page, 
Green, Floyd, Carroll and Grayson counties. Lead mining in Vir- 



Hand Bool- of Virginia VJ 

ginia dates back more than 150 years, and the old lead mines of 
Austinville, "Wythe county, were the first to be worked. Mining of 
zinc ores in the State dates from the opening of the mine at Bertha, 
Wythe county, in 1879. The "Bertha" spelter is of exceptional 
purity, and has a worldwide reputation. 

The Virginia areas which have produced or are producing coal 
are as follows : 

(1) The coal deposits of the Biclimond Coal Basin, which covers 
]Darts of the following five counties : Henrico, Chesterfield, Powhatan, 
Goochland and Amelia. 

(2) Tlie Frederich County Area. — Including the Mountain Falls 
district in the southwestern portion of the county and near the West 
Virginia line. 

(3) The Augusta County Area. — Includes the North Eiver district' 
in the northwest corner of Augusta county and the contiguous part of 
Eockingham county. 

(4) The Botetourt County Area. — Includes the southwest corner of 
Botetourt county. 

(5) The Montgomery-PidasJd Counties Area. — Includes Price and 
Brush mountains in Montgomery county, and Floyd and Little Walker 
mountains in Pulaski county. 

(6) The Bland-Wythe Counties Area. — Includes a small area in 
the southern part of Bland county and in the northern part of Wythe 
county. 

(7) The Southivest Virginia Area. — Forms the southeastern por- 
tion of the Kanawha basin, and comprises the Pocahontas or Flat-Top 
and the Big Stone Gap coal fields of the following counties : Taze- 
well, Eussell, Scott, Dickenson, Buchanan, Wise and Lee. Of these, 
Wise and Tazewell counties are the most important producers at present. 

It is due to the Southwest Virginia field that Virginia is en- 
titled to take rank among the principal coal producing States. 
Wise and Tazewell counties are the two most important producers. 
The other counties contain large reserves of coal, which in places 
are rapidly undergoing development. The annual production of 
coal in Virginia amounts to, about 4,500,000 short tons, valued at 
about $4,500,000. 

The rapid development of the coking-coal fields in Southwest 
Virginia during the last few years has given Virginia rank as one 
of the four principal coke-producing States. There are nineteen 
coke-producing establishments in Virginia with a total number 
of ovens exceeding 5,000. The annual coke production in the State 
amounts to approximately 1,500,000 short tons, valued at about 
$3,700,000 at the coke ovens. 

The clays of Virginia show great variety, are widely distribi;ted 



Hand Book of Virginia 21 



and are suitable for maii}^ commercial purposes. Almost every 
county in Virginia contains clay suitable for the manufacture of 
common brick, and, in most cases, the deposits are of such char- 
acter that common brick of the best quality can be made. The 
total number of clay operating firms in Virginia exceeds eighty, 
producing annually clay products valued at more than $1,500,000. 

The production of stone has been an important industry in 
the State for many years, and the product of some varieties, espe- 
cially granite, has been used in many notable structures. The 
stone industry is fourth in importance among those based upon 
the mineral wealth of the State, being surpassed only by the coal, 
clay products and iron ores. The annual production is valued at 
about $500,000. 

The mineral waters of Virginia are an important source of 
revenue in the State. Virginia has a very large number of spring 
resorts and a great variety and abundance of well-known com- 
mercial waters. Indeed, Virginia is . par excellence a mineral- 
springs State, occupying among the South Atlantic States the same 
position that New York does in the North Atlantic section. Vir- 
ginia is second only to New York in the number of springs that 
are utilized commercially, and exceeds New York in the number 
of resorts. The total annual sales of water from mineral springs 
amount to more than 2,000,000 gallons, valued at about $500,000. 

Rivers and Water Supply. 

Five large and navigable rivers, with their affluent and tribu- 
taries, drain five-sixths of the State. These all empty into the 
Atlantic, four of them through the Chesapeake Bay, and one 
through Albemarle Sound. The four that empty into the Chesa- 
peake are the Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James. The one 
that empties into Albemarle Sound is the Roanoke or Staunton. 
These are all navigable to the head of tidewater by large steam- 
boats and sailing vessels. Besides these there are other long and 
copious streams or rivers, the Shenandoah, that flows through the 
Valley, and New river and Clinch in Southwest Virginia. These 
rivers are all supplied by multitudinous streams, rivulets and 
creeks; many of these long and of suflicient size to entitle them 
to the name of rivers. These affluents are but a few of the hun- 
dreds of streams in every part of the State that fall below the 
dimensions of rivers, but which, in conjunction with the bolder 
streams, irrigate the country and furnish inexhaustible water 
power. Never-failing springs of pure, sparkling water abound in 
every section, many of them possessing medicinal properties of 



Hand Booh of Virginia S'3 

a high order. The annual rainfall is 35 inches in the southwest 
and 55 inches on the eastern coast, the average throughout the 
State being about 43 inches. 

From the above statements it can easily be believed that Vir- 
ginia is one of the most abundantl}^ watered countries upon the 
face of the Earth. There can scarcely be found a square mile on 
which there is not either a running stream or a bold spring. 

Water Power. 

In this busy age, when every accessory of human industry is 
eagerly utilized, it may not be amiss to call more particular at- 
tention to the marvelous supply of water power which the rivers 
and streams of the State afford. 

Even in Tidewater, the flattest part of the State, the numerous 
smaller rivers and creeks have sufficient fall to furnish ample water 
power for grist mills, and, of course, the same power could be 
used for other purposes. Where Tidewater joins Middle Virginia 
there is a rocky ledge, which rises up quite abruptly and over 
which all streams have to pour to reach the ocean. In pouring 
over that ledge rapids are formed which give magnificent water 
power. This water power is especially fine just above Alexandria, 
on the Potomac ; at Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock ; at 
Richmond, on the James, and at Petersburg, on the Appomattox. 
"Indeed," as Commodore M. F. Maury says, "the James river and 
its tributaries alone afford water power enough to line their banks 
from Covington and Lexington, with a single row of factories, all 
the way to Richmond." New river also furnishes magnificent 
water power. In fact, all through the State an abundance of the 
finest water power is awaiting development. A very small pro- 
portion of this power is at present developed. 

Of the four navigable rivers of Virginia that are tidal to the 
ocean, three of them, the Potomac, Rappahannock and James, take 
their rise in the mountain region and wind through landscapes of 
surpassing loveliness to deliver their waters into that bay which, 
like an inland sea, washes her eastern front. The York, a wide, 
straight stream, navigable for the largest vessels, is less than forty 
miles in length, and is rather an estuary, or arm of the bay, than 
a river. 

The Chesapeake Bay is not only the most picturesque and 
beautiful sheet of water upon the globe, but it has no equal for the 
abundance and variety of the marine food which it supplies. It 
is 200 miles long, with an average width of 15 miles. It has the 
most abundant oyster beds in the world, and its Ljoinhaven Bay 



24: Department of Agriculture 

oyster is confessedly the largest and most delicious specimen of 
this bivalve to be found in any water. It supplies, in inexhaustible 
quantities, every fish known to the southern waters, with the ex- 
ception of the pompano, which is peculiar to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Turtles, crabs, terrapins, lobsters and clams abound, while birds 
by tens of thousands crowd its waters, and the inlets and marshes 
that mark its borders — swans, geese, ducks and sora. The canvas- 
back ducks, that feed on the wild celery and grasses that fringe its 
banks, possess a game flavor that is coveted by the epicure. 

We have not overdrawn the picture of the attractive invitation 
which Virginia extends to the homeseeker, particularly the one 
who desires to reside in the country and follow the life of a 
farmer. With her diversified surface and varied elevation, her 
mild climate, fine rainfall, well distributed through the year, Vir- 
ginia, with her numerous water courses and streams and her fertile 
soil, presents an opportunity for all kinds of agricultural pursuits. 
The homeseeker can find an attractive location for any line of 
cultivation he may wish to follow. From the fish and oysters of 
the bays and estuaries, the peanut growing and trucking of the 
Tidewater, the raising of corn, wheat, oats, tobacco, fruits and 
stock of the Piedmont, to the blue grass grazing of the more moun- 
tainous section, he has a varied field of selection. 

Forests. 

The forests of Virginia abound in an unusual variety of woods, 
especially the valuable hardwoods so important in modern con- 
struction. In these forests are found every wood known to south- 
ern soils, except the noted red cedar of Alabama. Most of the un- 
cultivated land consists of woodland tracts. Pine forests and 
cypress swamps cover vast areas of the Tidewater section. This 
soil favors also the growth of the cedar, willow, locust, juniper 
and gum, and to some extent the oak — woods that furnish the 
best material for staves, shingles, ship timber and sawed lumber. 
In the central and western sections are found the oak, hickory, 
walnut, chestnut, birch, beech, maple, poplar, cherry, ash, sycamore 
and elm. In the higher latitudes are found the hemlock, spruce 
and white pine. Oak, pines and poplar are the chief woods for 
building. The durable hardwoods — oak, hickory, walnut and 
chestnut — are valuable in the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments, cars and furniture. Paper is made from the pulp of the 
soft poplar. Oak bark and sumac leaves are extensively used in 
tanning and dyeing. 



Hand Book of Virginia 



Climate. 

Man is so dependent in all the essentials of his existence upon 
the climatic conditions of the country he inhabits, a knowledge of 
the phenomena of climate is of the utmost importance. Virginia, 
as a whole, lies in the region of middle latitude between 36° 30' 
and 39° 30', giving it a climate of "means" between the extremes 
of heat and cold incident to States south and north of it. 

The climate is mild and healthful. The winters are less severe 
than in the northern and northwestern States, or even the western 
localities of the same latitude ; while the occasional periods of ex- 
treme heat in the summer are not more oppressive than in many 
portions of the north. The average temperature of the State is 
56°. The summer heat of the Tidewater is tempered by the sea 
breezes; while in the mountain section the warm southwest trade 
winds, blowing through the long parallel valleys, impart to them 
and the enclosing mountains moisture borne from the Gulf of 
Mexico. As a place to live in all the year round, Virginia has no 
equal. 

Virginia is also exceptionally free from windstorms and hur- 
ricanes, never having any like those which frequent the western 
plains and the States of the southwest. Such a thing as a dwell- 
ing house being blown over is a practically unknown occurrence. 

MEAN MONTHLY TEMPERATURE. July. Dec. 

1909 '. 78.6 35.7 

1910 76.5 37.9 

1911 75.5 32.8 

1912 73.5 34.4 

1913 75.4 37.7 

The westerly winds are the prevailing. 

Rainfall. 

The annual rainfall is from forty to sixty inches. It is fairly 
well distributed through the entire year. 

Commercial Facilities. 

In respect to ready access to markets for the products of her 
soil, of her foundries and factories, and of her inexhaustible beds 
of coal and iron, as well as in respect to facility of purchase from 
the markets of the world without, Virginia is most favorably cir- 
cumstanced. Six trunk lines of railroads penetrate and intersect 
the State. These, with their numerous branch lines and their con- 
nections with other roads, place every portion of the State in com- 



Hand Book of Virginia 3? 



muuicatiou with every principal port aud city iu the country. 
The lines of steamboats that ply the navigable streams of eastern 
Virginia afford commercial communication for large sections of 
the State with the markets of this country and of Europe. At 
Norfolk and Newport News are ports that maintain communication 
with the European markets by means of seagoing steamers and 
vessels, while from these ports is also kept up an extensive com- 
merce along the Atlantic seaboard. The harbor of Hampton Roads, 
upon which these ports sit like crowned queens of commerce, is 
the largest, deepest and safest upon the whole Atlantic coast. Upon 
its bosom the combined navies and commercial marine of the world 
can ride in safety and with ample berth. As has been before stated, 
these ports are nearer than is New York to the great centers of 
population, and areas of production, or the west and northwest. 
Chicago is nearer by fifty miles, in a direct line, to Norfolk than 
it is to New York. The harbor on the southern coast of England, 
between the Isle of Wight and the mainland, has been named, from 
its safety, the "King's Chamber." Hampton Roads, sheltered by 
the Virginia capes from the storms of the Atlantic, may well be 
regarded as our King's Chamber. 

Natural Wonders. 

Many of the most marvelous natural wonders of the world are 
found in Virginia. The most widely known of these is the Natural 
Bridge, in Rockbridge county, fourteen miles from Lexington. It 
is a stupendous bridge of rock, and from it the county (Rock- 
bridge) received its name. It is 215 feet and sis inches from the 
creek below to the top of the span of arch above. 

In the limestone section of the State there are numerous caves. 
The most noted of these are Weyer's Cave, in Augusta county, and 
the Luray Caverns, in Page county. There are in both of these 
numerous halls, chambers and grottoes, brilliant with stalactites 
and stalagmites, and adorned with other forms curiously wrought 
by the slow dripping water through the centuries. 

Crab Tree Falls, near the summit of the Blue Ridge, in Nelson 
county, are formed by a branch of Tye river. They consist of 
three falls, the longest of these leaps of the stream being 500 feet. 
This freak of nature, and the unsurpassed mountain scenery of the 
surrounding region, attract many tourists. The Balcony Falls, im- 
mediately where Rockbridge, Amherst and Bedford counties cor- 
ner, the passage where the James river cuts its way through the 
Blue Ridge, presents a scene of grandeur little, if any, inferior to 
the passage of the Potomac at Harper's Ferry through the same 
range of mountains. 



Hand Bool- of Virginia 2'9 

Mountain Lake, in Giles county, is a beautiful body of deep 
water, some 3,500 feet above the sea level. The water is so trans- 
parent that the bottom can be seen in every part. Pleasure boats 
sailing upon it pass above the trunks and tops of large trees that 
are plainly seen. This would indicate that the lake is not of very 
great antiquity. Mountain Lake is a great summer resort. 

The Dismal Swamp may properly be accounted a natural won- 
der. It is an extensive region, lying mostly in Virginia, but partly 
in North Carolina, and covered with dense forests of cypress, juni- 
per, cedar and gum. It is a remote, weird region, inhabited by 
many wild animals. Its silence is broken by resounding echoes 
of the woodman's axe in hewing its trees that are of great value 
for the manufacture of buckets, tubs and other varieties of wooden 
ware, and for shingles, staves and ship timber. In the middle of 
the swamp is Lake Drummond (lying entirely on the Virginia 
side), a round body of water six miles in diameter, being the largest 
lake in the State. It is noted for the purity of its amber-colored 
water, the hue being derived from the roots of cypress and juniper. 
This water will remain for years without becoming stale or stag- 
nant, and is used by ships and vessels going on long sea voyages. 

Natural Tunnel, on the Virginia and Southwestern Railroad, 
in Scott county, is a freak of nature that has amazed thousands 
of tourists. In the early days the buffaloes found their ways under 
the mountain through this tunnel ; in their trail came the early 
Indians and behind them Daniel Boone, who blazed the way for 
civilization; behind Boone and the early settlers, who were the 
progenitors of the present native mountain stock, came the steel 
rail and the monster locomotive. 

Schools, 

The people of Virginia are manifesting great interest in the 
movement for better schools. Associations for the improvement 
of the schools have been formed in every section of the State, and 
educators are constantly delivering addresses to interested audi- 
ences on the value of education and the importance of increasing 
the efficiency of our public school system. 

The demand is going up from every section for better school- 
houses, better teachers and longer school terms. In addition to 
the primary and grammar schools, all the cities and towns, and 
many of the rural districts, have excellent public high schools. 

During the past few years a standard of requirements for high 
schools has been prepared and put into operation in all of the 
State high schools, A course of study for primary and grammar 







A great natural tunnel through a mountain on a level in which a hroa<J- 
gauged railroad is operate^. 



Hand Bool: of Virginia 31 

grades has also been prepared and is being largely used in the 
State. 

Normal Training Departments. 

The Legislature appropriates annually for the establishment of 
normal training departments in the selected high schools of the 
State. These departments will aid Yery materially in providing a 
superior class of teachers for the rural schools. 

Agricultural High Schools. 

The Legislature of 1908 set aside the sum of $20,000 for the 
purpose of establishing departments of agriculture, manual train- 
ing and domestic economy in at least one high school in each of the 
ten congressional districts. 

School Libraries. 

Recent legislation has made liberal provisions for establishing 
both permanent and traveling school libraries. The Department 
of Public Instruction estimates that no less than four or five hun- 
dred new school libraries will be opened in Virginia during the 
next twelve months. 

Institutions of Higher Learning. 

So high a standing have Virginia's institutions of learning 
that her colleges number among their students pupils from almost 
every State in the Union. The State has four splendid normal 
schools, maintained by State aid, for the preparation of women for 
the work of teaching in the public schools, located as follows : 
Farmville, Harrisonburg, Fredericksburg and Radford, Virginia. 

The Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg and the Uni- 
versity of Virginia at Charlottesville are among the foremost in- 
stitutions of the kind in this countrj^ The Virginia Military In- 
stitute at Lexington, also a State institution, affords excellent in- 
struction in military science, being second only to the United States 
Military Academy at West Point. 

In addition to these State institutions of higher learning, there 
are many excellent private and denominational colleges, as well as 
Washington and Lee University, a private institution of high rank. 

It will thus be seen that Virginia has a complete system of 
public instruction, extending from the primary grades to the uni- 
versity and the technical schools, and many private high schools, 
academies and colleges. 

Industrial training has been introduced into the public schools 
of some of the cities and towns, and the State Board of Education 



32 Department of Agriculture 

has made provision for introducing instruction in agriculture into 
the rural public schools, as well as in high schools previously 
mentioned. 

The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind at Staunton 
and the Virginia School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children at 
Newport News are among the most efficient of their kind in the 
country. There are also four State hospitals for the care of the 
insane, and one for the helpless. 

Virginia maintains an efficient system of public schools for 
colored children. 

Agricultural Resources. 

Although Virginia has very large, varied and important inter- 
ests outside of agriculture, still agriculture has been, and is, her 
greatest and most important interest, and is the occupation of 
the great majority of her people. She is essentially an agricul- 
tural State. The principal agricultural products are tobacco, corn, 
wheat, oats, buckwheat, barley and the native and cultivated 
grasses, which, together with the clovers, yield an abundance of 
hay. 

In the seaboard se^^ion, particularly in the vicinity of Nor- 
folk, on the Eastern b^. jre, ther*- -e extensive areas devoted to 
truck farming, an industry which annually sends millions of dol- 
lars' worth of garden imd farm vegetables and products to the 
markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. In 
this same section, especially in the counties that form the south- 
eastern portion of the State, between the James river and the 
North Carolina line, the cultivation of the peanut is an extensive 
and profitable industry, the annual value of the crop being about 
four a half million dollars. Virginia raises more and better pea- 
nuts than any State in the Union. The cereals are widespread 
over the State, but the Valley is pre-eminently the grain-producing 
region. Tobacco is, in a part of the State, the staple principally 
relied on as a money-making crop. Only one State in the Union, 
Kentucky, produces more tobacco than Virginia. The "Virginia 
Leaf," the finest tobacco raised in the United States, has a world- 
wide reputation for excellence. It thrives best in the uplands of 
Middle Virginia and in the Piedmont. In Halifax, Pittsylvania 
and Henry counties, bordering on the North Carolina line, mid- 
way of the State and in smaller areas of contiguous counties, the 
famous "bright tobacco" is raised. This always commands a high 
price. 

There is every conceivable variety of soil in Virginia, from 
the almost pure sand of the sea coast to the stiff clay of the western 



Hand Book of Virginia 33 

portions. Although of such variety, there is one noteworthy fact, 
and that is the ease with which nearly all of the soil can be culti- 
vated, and its ready response to judicious treatment. If there is 
anyone, anywhere, who desires to take up any special branch of 
agriculture or desires to devote his time to the raising of any 
variety of cereal, grass, legume, fruit or animal, he can find in 
Virginia land and conditions ideally suitable to that identical 
thing. 

What Secretary Wilson Said. 

Secretary Wilson, of the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, in the spring of 1909, said: "With proper attention to 
stock raising and legume growing six or seven years will make 
your southern lands worth $100 per acre. There is no more al- 
luring opportunity in America than that of taking $10 or $20 south- 
ern lands and increasing their values five or six times in a decade, 
besides making good profits while doing it." 

And this advice, fortunately for the homeseekers and for the 
south as well, has been confidently followed. Particularly has Vir- 
ginia profited by the southern trend of immigration, for her long 
growing season, her salubrious climate, her well-watered lands and 
her bright, sunny days, all assist nature in making her an ideal 
farming State. To those who have lived in regions harassed by 
long, cruel winters she seems an Eden. 

Statistics, even to the most practical minds, are seldom inter- 
esting, but a few figures touching the Old Dominion will attract 
more than a passing glance from homeseekers in other parts of the 
Union and in foreign lands. Here are some notable things about 
Virginia : 

In 1880 she had a population of 1,512,565. Today she has a 
population of 2,061,612 — an increase of 36.3 per cent. 

During the same period her wealth has increased from $707,- 
000,000 to $1,650,000,000, or by $943,000,000, which means a gain 
of 133.3 per cent. 

Virginia's railroads, in the two decades mentioned, have in- 
creased their mileage from 1,893 miles to 4,609 miles — 143 per cent. 

Mineral production has jumped from $1,438,000 to $16,000,000, 
and lumber production from 315,939,000 feet to 2,102,000,000. 

In 1910 production of corn in Virginia was 54,621,000 bushels; 
of wheat, 10,175,000 ; of oats, 4,268,000 ; of buckwheat, 378,000 ; of 
rye, 270,000, and of barley, 88,000. 

But that only half tells the story. In 1910, 124,800,000 pounds 
of tobacco, 6,566,000 bushels of Irish potatoes and 565,000 tons of 
hay were harvested in Virginia. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



35 



With an extreme length of 440 miles the land of the Old Do- 
minion rises from sea level to a height of more than 5,700 feet, and 
within its Tidewater, Piedmont, Valley and highland areas are be- 
tween 5,000,000 and 6,000,000 acres of soil not yet occupied by 
farms. 

Grains. 

Virginia is rapidly becoming an important grain-growing State ; 
160 bushels of corn and 40 bushels of wheat per acre are reported 
by some of our best farmers. The fact that the average price of 




Some well-bred Virginia Ctom. 

corn per bushel is higher in Virginia than in any of the "Western 
and North Atlantic States and the large increase in yields brought 
about by improved methods of agriculture have stimulated '^ur 
farmers to greater eiforts in grain production. 

Grasses. 

The western portion of this State has been recognized for years 
as an unsurpassed hay producing section. Bluegrass grows lux- 
uriantly in the valleys and on the mountain sides. Clover, timothy, 
herds grass, or red top, and alfalfa are the principal grasses grown 
all over the State. Virginia is recognized as the home of the 
legumes — soil improvers and nitrogen gatherers — such as cowpeas, 
crimson clover, hairy vetch, soy beans and alfalfa. From the moun- 
tains to the sea these crops are grown, not only as soil improvers, 
but for forage. 



Hand Book of Virginia SY 



Alfalfa. 

Virginia now has about 50,000 acres in alfalfa. One farm has 
500 acres growing, and produced in one year more than $40,000 in 
alfalfa hay. Wherever scientific methods have been adopted suc- 
cess is always certain. 

Trucks. 

Virginia is today the greatest trucking State in America. Its 
truck crops last year brought $15,000,000 — an increase in ten years 
of 500 per cent. The counties of Accomac and Northampton pro- 
duce annually more than three million dollars' worth of Irish and 
sweet potatoes. The whole eastern section of the State, contiguous 
to large bodies of water, has its climate so modified by the Gulf 
Stream and the land responds so quickly that truck raising has 
become a very lucrative business. Five railroad stations in Smyth 
and Wythe counties shipped in 1913 30,000,000 pounds of cabbage. 
Some Virginia trucking lands cannot be bought for $300 per acre. 
Lands are valuable when cabbage and onions produce $500 crops 
per acre ; lettuce, $1,300 per acre, and when 330 bushels of potatoes 
per acre grow on 100-acre fields. After the potato crop has been 
harvested the same land grows 50 bushels of corn per acre the 
same season; at the last Avorking of the corn the land is seeded to 
crimson clover — three crops in one season. There is yet an abun- 
dance of land that can be bought for $25 per acre and improved 
easily so as to grow fine crops. 

Peanuts. 

Virginia is one of the largest peanut growing States in America. 
On account of flavor and quality they bring the highest prices. One 
himdred bushels per acre can be grown. The yearly value of this 
crop is about five million dollars. 

Tobacco. 

Virginia produced in 1913 from 200,000 acres in tobacco a crop 
worth nearly $22,000,000, which averaged 800 pounds per acre, an 
average value of $128 per acre. Bright tobacco averaged I8I/2 
cents per pound; dark, 7 cents per pound. 

Virginia may justly claim to be the originator of the tobacco 
industry of this country. The principal occupation of the early 
colonists was tobacco culture. 

In the historic town of Jamestown, in James City county, to- 
bacco was first grown by the early settlers. The first exportation 
was made in 1612 by John Rolfe. At that time all of the tobacco, 
except what was used by the colonists, was exported to Europe. 




Ten years old winesap apple tree; produced 12 barrels No. 1 apples 1914. 
Mr. Stedman's, Patrick county. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 39 

The culture of tobacco rapidly increased so much that the sub- 
stance of the colonists was seriously threatened. Consequently laws 
were passed by the Colonial Legislature of Virginia that every per- 
son cultivating one acre of tobacco should cultivate two acres of 
corn. Commercial fertilizers were unknown at that time, yet the 
colonists produced a fine quality of tobacco, due largely to the 
virgin fertility of the soil. 

There are five distinct qualities of tobacco produced in Vir- 
ginia — dark shipping, red and colored shipping, sun and air-cured 
fillers, bright yellow wrappers, smokers and fillers, and mahogany 
flue-cured manufacturing. These are each characterized by pecu- 
liarities of color, quality, body and flavor, the result of soil influ- 
ence modified by curing and management. 

Fruits. 

Virginia is one of the most highly-favored fruit-growing States 
in the Union. Indeed, when the variety, abundance and excel- 
lence of its fruits are considered, it is doubtful if any other State 
can compare with it in this respect. Apples, peaches, pears, cher- 
ries, quinces, plums, damsons and grapes are in great abundance, 
while the smaller fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, black- 
berries, gooseberries and currants, are plentiful. The foothills of 
the Piedmont and Blue Ridge are specially adapted to the apple, 
some orchards producing as much as from $450 to $500 per acre. 
The peach, requiring a somewhat warmer climate, abounds more 
plentifully in Middle Virginia and Tidewater. The eastern slopes 
of the Blue Ridge are especially prolific in grapes, Albemarle 
county taking the lead in their cultivation. They are of excellent 
quality and flavor, both for table use and wine making. 

Apples may be said to be the principal fruit crop of the State. 
They are extensively grown, and there is a yearly increasing num- 
ber of trees planted. Mr. H. E. Vandeman, one of the best-known 
horticulturists in the country, says that there is not in all North 
America a better place to plant orchards than in Virginia. He 
says: "For rich apple soil, good flavor and keeping qualities of 
the fruit, and nearness to the great markets of the East and 
Europe, your country is wonderfully favored." The famous Albe- 
marle Pippin is considered the most deliciously flavored apple in 
the world. Sixty years ago the Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Albe- 
marle, when minister from this country to England, presented a 
barrel of "Albemarle Pippins" to Queen Victoria, and from that 
day to this it has been the favorite apple in the royal household 
of Great Britain. Although the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Valley 



40 Department of Agriculture 

and Southwest sections are more particularly adapted to the apple, 
they are grown to some extent in every part of the State. 

The fig, pomegranate and other delicate fruits flourish in the 
Tidewater region. 

We have mentioned the cultivated fruit; but in many sections 
there will be found growing wild, in great abundance, the straw- 
berry, the whortleberry, the haw, the persimmon, the plum, the 
blackberry, the dewberry, a fine variety of grapes for jellies and 
for wines, the cherry, the raspberry and the mulberry, and also 
will be found the chestnut, hazelnut, the walnut, the hickorynut, 
the beechnut and the chinquepin. 

Some orchards in this State yielded crops that have sold as 
high as $500 per acre in the orchard. There are now many large 
commercial orchards growing in the State. 

Live Stock. 

The large increase in grass and forage crops have caused many 
of our farmers who live in the eastern section of the State to turn 
their attention more to stock raising. This industry is rapidly in- 
creasing throughout the State. 

Virginia is the only State that exports beef cattle direct from 
the bluegrass pastures. Seventy-five thousand head of highly bred 
cattle are exported from the grassy slopes of Virginia to English 
markets each year. 

Sheep. 

In the grazing sections of the State almost every farmer keeps 
a flock of ewes and counts the profits from his early lambs as clear 
gain. The pioneers in early lamb production were handicapped by 
the fact that markets were uncertain, buyers had to be hunted up 
and the difficulty of getting a carload ready at one time. All of 
these difficulties have been removed. Eailroads supply the best 
shipping facilities ; the buyer no longer has to be looked for — he is 
there ahead of the lamb — and everything indicates that the demand 
will be still more urgent. 

Adaptability of the Country. 

The business would not have grown to such magnitude in so 
short a time but for the advantages of the country. The high- 
lands of the Appalachian region, varying from 1,500 to 2,300 feet 
in altitude, intersected with wide grassy valleys, and interpene- 
trated with streams of pure water, furnish an ideal sheep walk. 
They instinctively seek high ground for rest. They love an undu- 
lating, well-drained surface. These combinations of hill and valley, 



Hand Boole of Virginia 41 

with, luxuriant pasture and abundant shade, free from the extremes 
of the northern winter or the southern summer, are not to be found 
in such profusion elsewhere. All the native and cultivated grasses 
are available. The winter cereals — wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc. — 
sown in the early fall, furnish an abundant and nutritious winter 
pasture. Rarely is any shelter needed, and materials for the simple 
ones in use are present on nearly all farms. 

Market Facilities. 

In addition to these climatic and physical characteristics are a 
great advantage in marketing. In seasons of normal severity Vir- 
ginia lambs can be made marketable before the crop of the north 
is lambed. This young mutton reaches the market when feed lots 
are empty, and fills the gap between that juncture and the arrival 
of northern native and northwestern range lambs. How important 
an advantage this is may be seen from the fact that, as a rule, the 
price goes down about one-half a cent per pound for each ten days 
from the 20th of May (when the earliest are sent) to about the 1st 
of July. The only competitor in the market is the producer of 
"hot-house lambs," and he must get out of the way before this time 
to save himself. His product requires great skill, care and ex- 
pense, and is also accompanied with no small risk. 

Special Advantages. 

Virginia has special advantages in her proximity to the large 
cities along the Atlantic coast. Her magnificent harbor is reached 
by well-equipped transportation lines, so that the commerce of the 
world may be said to have its doorway within her borders. 

No student of the history of Virginia can fail to note the con- 
spicuous place this great Commonwealth has occupied in our Union 
since Colonial days. While Virginia, as the mother of Presidents, 
has achieved political eminence in the annals of the nation, she has 
been no less prominent in all those activities that bring material 
prosperity. Indeed, with all of her wealth of brilliant men and 
women, it is doubtful whether she could have achieved the high 
place she has occupied as a colony and as a State had not nature 
dealt with her in a lavish manner. Her rich soil attracted planters, 
who found in her ample harbor and broad, navigable rivers trans- 
portation facilities that were unequaled on the Atlantic seaboard; 
proximity to European markets was from the first an asset that 
proved a powerful help in giving value to her agricultural lands, 
as well as to her products. 



I 








■^Mf 






Hand Booh of Yirginia 



43 



Ground Limestone. 

B}^ an act of the General Assembly, tlie State is now building a 
large lime-grinding plant. Ground limestone will be furnished to 
the farmers at cost. 

Manufacturing. 

More than $200,000,000 is invested in Yirginia manufacturing 
establishments, and the State ranks high in the value of manufac- 
tured products. The annual lumber cut exceeds 2,000,000,000 feet; 
mineral products annually approximate $25,000,000, with 5,000,000 
tons of coal; yearly iron output nearly 1,000.000 tons. Cotton areas 
nearby furnish her textile mills with the best grade staple; 
wheat and corn are produced in the rich agricultural areas of the 
State; and marbles, building stones, cement work, etc., also give 
the State prestige in manufacturing, as well as the large tobacco 
factories, roller mills, locomotive works, foundries, shoe factories, 
knitting mills, wagon factories, peanut mills, tanneries, etc., all 
with raw materials at hand or easily accessible. 

Water Power. — A minimum of 500,000 horsepower is available 
on a number of watercourses, and fuel is cheap and abundant. The 
lines of transportation give excellent service, and the great markets 
are reached with facility. 




Virginia has mUlious of uucleveloped water-power. 



Hand Boole of Virginia 45 

The Market Advantages in Virginia. 

According to the United States Government report, the value 
of an acre in — 



*Virginia 


Corn. 


Per Acre. 
$19.76 


Illinois 




17.01 


North Dakota . . . 




14.98 


Missouri 




12.95 


*Virginia 


Wheat. 


$13.06 


Minnesota 




12.31 


Nebraska 




12.71 


Kansas 




11.27 


Ohio 




7.84 


*Virginia 


Oats. 


$11.18 


Nebraska ........ 




10.07 


Missouri 




9.54 


North Dakota .... 




7.71 


*Virginia 


Potatoes. 


$75.20 


Minnesota 




57.20 


Pennsylvania .... 




. . . • 70.40 


Indiana 




44.52 


^Virginia 


Hay. 


$19.68 


Ohio 




16.64 


Iowa 




14.21 


Illinois 




13.82 





Hand Boole of Virginia 



47 



Statement of Capital, Surplus and Deposits of the National Banks 
Located in the Southeastern States. 

Gross 
Capital. Surplus. Deposits. 

Washington, D. C ? 6,500,000 % 5,000,000 $ 36,000,000 

Virginia . .' 17,600,000 11,600,000 113,000,000 

West Virginia 10,000,000 6,400,000 64,000,000 

North Carolina 8,400,000 2,800,000 46,000,000 

South Carolina 6,300,000 2,100,000 30,000,000 

Georgia 15,100,000 9,300,000 63,000,000 

Florida 7,500,000 3,000,000 40,000,000 

Alabama 10,200,000 5,800,000 50,000,000 

Mississippi 3,400,000 1,600,000 17,000,000 

Louisiana 3,000,000 2,300,000 17,000,000 

New Orleans 5,200,000 3,000,000 34,000,000 

Kentucky 12,300,000 5,200,000 46,000,000 

Louisville 5,500,000 2,700,000 33,000,000 

Tennessee 13,200,000 5,500,000 78,000,000 

Cap. & Sur. Cap. & Sur. 

Nat. Banks. State Banks. Total. Deposits. 

Washington City |11, 500,000 116,200,000 $27,500,000 $83,000,000 

New Orleans 8,200,000 13,300,000 21,500,000 89,000,000 

Richmond, Va 10,700,000 7,300,000 18,000,000 53;000,000 

Atlanta, Ga 9,700,000 7,300,000 17,000,000 35,000,000 

Figures taken as far as possible from statement of Comptroller of Cur- 
rency, Richmond, Va., Atlanta, Ga., from Bankers' Register, as these are not 
reserve cities. Figures regarding State banks also taken from Bankers' 
Register. 

ONE OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS IS LOCATED IN 
RICHMOND, VA 




[The writer of this brief article, Mr. W. D. Zinn, who is a citizen ot 
another State, has traveled extensively in a dozen other States. Mr /mn 
is one of the best informed men in the country on the agricultural con- 
ditions and the opportunities offered to the industrious homeseeker.] 

State in the Union offers greater inducements to the 
homeseeker than the old State of Virginia. Her mild 
climate, pure water and productive soil make her al- 
most a paradise for those who want to enjoy life on the 
farm and at the same time accumulate competence. No 
matter what line of farming one desires to follow, here may be 
found the conditions suited to it. As a live stock country no State 
surpasses her. For the production of grain crops she has no su- 
perior and but few equals. Cotton and tobacco are produced very 
profitably As to the production of fruit she is already gaming a 
world-wide reputation. Some of the largest commercial orchards 
of the East are found within her borders, and some of these or- 
chards have produced an annual income of from $300 to $500 per 
acre This fruit has been produced on lands that a few years ago 
sold for $10 to $20 per acre, and there are yet thousands of acres 
of land that can be purchased at low figures that will produce as 
fine fruit as any of the bearing orchards. The fruit-grower can 
find no greater inducements than are found in the "Old Dominion. 
Why go to the northwest and purchase high-priced lands, grow 
fruit and ship it four thousand miles when better fruit can be 
grown on these cheap lands with the markets at the door? 

The Helpfulness of the State Agricultural Department. 

The Virginia Department of Agriculture, which a few years ago 
was about to be abolished, is now one of the most important 
branches of the State Government. The present commissioner, Hon. 
G. W. Koiner, was put in charge, and from a small office it has ex- 
tended its usefulness into every branch of agriculture. 

The first step toward helping the oppressed farmer was to have 
enacted such a law as would protect farmers against indifferent 
and adulterated fertilizers, and at the same time provide a fund 
for the maintenance, support and extension of agricultural work 



Hand Boole of Virginia 49 

and science. This fertilizer law which our commissioner worked 
for and had passed is saving the farmers of Virginia from $1,000,- 
000 to $1,500,000 each year. And as we are using about $7,000,000 
worth of fertilizer each year in the State, can anyone doubt this 
statement, if we stop to consider for a moment what the result 
would be if $7,000,000 of fertilizer were allowed to be dumped on 
the farmers of the State without watching and inspection and be- 
ing analyzed to see that it contained the fertilizer value claimed 
on the bag? 

First, every manufacturer offering fertilizer for sale in Virginia 
is required to register the same with the Department of Agricul- 
ture, giving weight, name of brand, name of manufacturer and the 
guaranteed analysis. There are ten inspectors in the State of Vir- 
ginia (one from each of the congressional districts), traveling in 
each of these districts in the spring and fall of the year when the 
fertilizer is moving. These inspectors collect samples of fertilizers 
and send them to the Commissioner's office with such information 
as they find on the sacks. This information is recorded by the 
fertilizer clerk and then the sample of fertilizer is given a number 
and is sent to the laboratory. It is analyzed and reported in the 
bulletins, and violations are prosecuted by law. Samples of lime 
are drawn in the same way. 

The department has also a well-equipped seed laboratory, and 
seeds are sent in by the farmers to be tested and are collected also 
by inspectors from the Dairy and Food Division of this Depart- 
ment, who travel the entire year. After these tests are made by 
the seed analyst, then the results of these tests are printed in the 
bulletin, giving both the guarantee and what was found, also pub- 
lishing the names of the seedsmen, so that whether it be fertilizer, 
lime or seed, these facts are all published for the benefit of the 
farmers, who can see for themselves just from whom and what they 
are buying. As a result of this seed inspection, twelve violations 
of this seed law were reported to the Commonwealth's attorney in 
one month. Our seedsmen are trying to get better seed to comply 
with the law more satisfactorily. 

Hog cholera serum is another branch of new work the Depart- 
ment is handling successfully, and during the last three years over 
$100,000 worth of hogs have been saved. The farmer can now put 
his money into this important industry and feel he can depend 
on this serum saving his hogs if administered to them in time. It 
is furnished at actual cost of manufacture, and the Department is 
doing this work without any additional cost for clerical force or 
for labor. This is but further evidence of the economical use of 
the employees of the office. 



Hand Bool: of Virginia 51 

Immigration Aided. — This is also a brancli of tlie Department 
which has accomplished a valuable work in bringing to the atten- 
tion of other States the opportunities Virginia offers to good and 
worthy citizens, and as a result our idle acres are being taken up 
and the prices of lands have doubled during the last ten years. 
The Department publishes literature, books and bulletins and sends 
them broadcast to the north and west and answers over ten thou- 
sand letters annually from inquirers from other States concerning 
Virginia lands. Many millions of dollars are invested every year 
in Virginia lands, and their values are increasing steadily. 

In addition to 70,000 bulletins being mailed to the farmers of 
this State each month, the Department issues an annual report of 
200 pages, which is also mailed to these 70,000 farmers ; and in this 
connection will state, so far as we are advised, this is the largest 
regular mailing list in the State — and all bulletins are sent free 
to our farmers. 

Besides the different kinds of work already enumerated, Mr. 
Koiner answers in the neighborhood of twenty-five thousand let- 
ters, in addition to the immigration mail, asking about Virginia 
lands. These letters cover every phase of farming. Plants and 
weeds of all kinds are sent in for identification, as well as insects 
of all kinds for the same purpose. 

Test Farms. — Five test farms are being maintained by this de- 
partment. At these farms, experiments of all kinds are being con- 
ducted with all kinds of farm and truck crops ; and as these farms 
enlarge their work and have time to work out extended tests, the 
farmer and trucker will gain a great store of information as to 
varieties, methods of culture, seasons of planting and the combat- 
ing of insects. No one farmer is able to make these tests and must 
rely on his Department to work them out for him. 

Lectures and Fanners Institutes. — The lecture field is recog- 
nized as a valuable branch of agricultural work, and your Commis- 
sioner, through the assistance of the railroads, has, with his lec- 
ture force, reached and addressed many thousand farmers every 
year. The best lecturers that could be gotten were secured, and 
whenever available, they came from our experiment stations and 
the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington. 

Museum Maintained for Farmers.^ — In order that the farmers 
might be inspired and edified, a splendid collection of farm crops 
are kept on exhibition at the Department. This is one of the best 
exhibits of this character shown by any State. It is a source of 
pride to the Commissioner to say to the farmers of Virginia that 
all this work is done from the funds realized by the sale of tax tags 
and the registration of brands of fertilizers, from which source 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



53 



about $60,000 is derived. Many other States receive from five to 
twenty times this amount with which to develop agriculture in their 
respective States, and yet it has been stated that the Virginia De- 
partment of Agriculture gets the best agricultural results of any 
State. 

Our farmers are asked to write for any information relating to 
their work. If you have any noxious weeds that you wish identi- 
fied or any mineral you want analyzed, or any other information 
on better farming, just write to Hon. G. "W. Koiner, the Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture, at Eichmond, Virginia, and you will receive 
informatiorL to lead you to secure satisfactory results. — From Southern 
Progress Magazine. 




Virginia farm scene. 



The Dairy and Food Division of the 
Department of Agriculture 




Benj. L. Puecell^ Commissioner. 

HIS division of the Department was established by the 
General Assembly in 1908, and has developed into one 
of the most important bureaus of this Department, as its 
work relates to the protection of the food supply for 
man and beast, and the promotion and encouragement 
of the dairy industry in the State. 

Due to the constant supervision maintained by the inspectors 
of this division over all articles of food offered for sale, the require- 
ment for the observance of proper sanitary precautions in food 
manufacturing and distributing plants, and the inspection of the 
stock and poultry feeds, the food and feed supplies of the State 
are most effectively guarded against adulteration and misbrand- 
ing. Our bakeries, meat shops, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, 
dairies, creameries and, in fact, all food distributing places, com- 
pare most favorably with the best conditions obtaining in other 
States in the cleanliness of their surroundings and methods em- 
ployed in handling their food products. 

The legislature recognized the unusual advantages the State 
offers for the promotion and increase of the dairy industry, and 
has made special provision by liberal appropriation of funds and 
the enactment of beneficent legislation to foster and encourage this 
most important branch of the agricultural development of the 
State. Under the direction of the Dairy and Food Commissioner 
competent instructors are sent out to the dairy farms, creameries 
and cheese factories to confer and advise with the owners in con- 
nection with the many problems which the dairymen meet and must 
overcome. These instructors are specially fitted for this work; are 
men who combine the science and theory of dairying with an ac- 
tual practical experience that make their suggestions and advice 
especially valuable. They give advice in the selection, handling, 
breeding and feeding of dairy cows, building barns and silos, the 
protection and marketing of the product and the sanitation of the 
dairies, creameries, etc. 

The special advantages for dairying the State offers are our 
equable climate, responsive soil and unlimited markets for dairy 
products. The home consumption is not alone i^upplied by our own 



Department of Agriculture 



production ; we have half a dozen States on or near our borders who 
would be eager buyers for a possible surplus, and our excellent 
water and rail transportation facilities put our output about forty- 
eight hours nearer to the outside markets than any competitors we 
will have. Our mild winters and long grazing seasons materially 
lessen the costs of the operating plants, expensive barns are unneces- 
sary, while the cost of production is so materially lessened by the 
enormous forage crops that can be produced on our lands and the 
natural pastures we have that any possible competition could be 
speedily overcome by the thrifty and intelligent Virginia dairyman. 

The attention of breeders and of dairymen generally is directed 
to the splendid opportunities which Virginia offers as a location for 
those who have had experience in the breeding of dairy cattle. In 
addition to the fact that the cost of raising the calves is very much 
lower in this State than in the great dairy States of the North and 
West, the Virginia breeder has at his door a demand for purebred 
cows and for the better class of grade animals which cannot now 
be supplied, and which is increasing with the rapid development 
of the industry in this State. The advantages are all on the side 
of the local breeder of dairy cattle. The dairymen of the State 
have learned that animals bred in Virginia are nearly always free 
from tuberculosis and other contagious diseases, while the contrary 
is frequently true as to imported stock. The State regulations as 
to bringing dairy cows into the State are of necessity very rigid, 
and the Virginia dairyman would prefer to buy his cows within 
the State if his needs could be supplied by local breeders. To the 
south of Virginia is a tier of States in which the dairy industry 
is in its infancy. A wonderful commercial development is in prog- 
ress in these States. Large cities are growing up which must be 
supplied with milk. The dairymen supplying these cities are begin- 
ning already to buy a better class of milkers, and this demand is 
constantly increasing. The breeder of dairy cattle who establishes 
himself in Virginia is assured of a market which will improve 
from year to year. 

Dairy farming in Virginia offers one of the surest prospects of 
reward to the farmer who looks for quick returns from his invest- 
ment and who will give to his work the energy and care that suc- 
cess demands. The expert butter and cheese maker will find a 
field well worth his investigation, and in which a limited invest- 
ment properly managed can be made to produce profitable and 
satisfactory returns. The Dairy and Food Division will furnish 
to prospective dairy farmers, creamery and cheese men full detailed 
information as to the dairy industry of the State and assist anyone 
who may contemplate investigating the local conditions existing in 
the various localities of the State. 



The New Education in Old Virg- lia 



E. C. Steae>tes, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



Nine Years of Progress in Education in Virginia. 

1905. 1914. 

School revenues ? 2,432,102 45 $ 6,262,286 35 

Salaries of teachers 1,749,516 18 3,768,688 35 

Annual cost of buildings 262,030 58 865,273 84 

Total value of school property 4,297,625 96 11,346,899 96 

Total enrollment 361,772 445,078 

Average daily attendance 215,205 297,426 

Pupils engaged in school gardening 3,551 

Number boys enrolled in corn clubs 1,422 

Number of girls in girls' canning clubs 485 

Number pupils studying agriculture 8,830 

Number pupils studying manual train- 
ing 29,636 




HE desire to educate all of the children of all of the 
people in all useful branches is a very prominent and, 
perhaps, a distinguishing feature of the life of this gen- 
eration. This desire prevails in this State and is the 
mainspring of the great effort we are making to offer 
"Old Virginia hospitality" to the homeseeker of today, in the 
guise of a well-located, well-lighted, well-ventilated, well-super- 
vised and well-taught school, well beloved and well cared for by 
an organized civic community with modern ideals. 

This program, which will seem quite ambitious to anyone who 
takes the pains to examine our bank account, is not based upon 
dollars and cents alone. Indeed, our public school funds are not 
even approximately adequate as yet to our needs — and that, not- 
withstanding the fact that we have increased those funds nearly 
two hundred per cent, during the past ten years. Therefore, Vir- 
ginia must still depend upon the progressive spirit of her people, 
which has wrought this great change in public sentiment and which 
has piled up these additional millions, for the current revenue of 
her schools. She must depend upon the co-operative spirit which 
has brought ibout the new ideals and hopes, rather than upon the 



Hand Booh of Virginia 59 

tangible evidences of tliose ideals and hopes in the shape of better 
school-houses, better salaries and larger revenues. 

A Well-Organized School System. 

Virginia's school system is unusually well-organized. It lends 
itself to co-operation as naturally as the sunflower turns to the 
sun. A striking illustration of this fact is found in our laws con- 
cerning the distribution of school funds, which are of three kinds — 
State, county and district. The State funds are apportioned to all 
of the schools of the State, the county funds to all of the schools 
of the county, and the district funds to all of the schools of the 
district. These methods of distribution tend to help weak schools, 
and the statute expressly declares that the county school funds 
shall be apportioned with "due regard to maintaining, as far as 
practicable, a uniform term throughout all of the districts of the 
county." Again, the legislature has provided six special funds. 
Out of the "high school fund" the State Board of Education aids 
the community which desires to have a high school; out of the 
"graded school fund" consolidated schools of two, three and four 
rooms are aided; out of the "rural school fund" one and two-room 
schools are given longer terms and better teachers; out of the 
"agricultural, manual training and domestic science fund" agri- 
cultural high schools have been established in each congressional 
district; out of the "normal training fund" thirty departments 
for training teachers have been established in high schools; out 
of the "library fund"' fully three hundred schools are assisted 
each year in securing a permanent library. 

Besides these six funds, M^hich are steam generators of great 
capacity in the workshop of progress, the legislature has provided 
a loan fund from the capital of the permanent Literary Fund, out 
of which one-half the cost of a new school building may be bor- 
rowed on fifteen years' time at three and four per cent, interest. 
And, finally, since the rural school situation in Virginia, as else- 
where, is the point of chief concern, I must make mention of the 
selfdenying attitude of our Virginia cities and wealthy towns in 
cheerfully consenting to the distribution of nearly every dollar of 
the five funds first above mentioned, all of which are large funds, 
among rural schools. 

It is evident, therefore, that the constant tendency in Virginia 
during the past decade has been to strengthen the weakest link, 
and among other results of this enlightened and liberal policy may 
be mentioned the increase in the number of high schools from 74 
to 514, the increase in enrollment of high schools from 6,000 to 22,- 
540, the increase in the number of two-room schools from 450 to 



63 



Department of Agriculture 



I might enumerate other evidences of co-operation in Virginia 
among institutions of higher learning, normal schools, teachers' as- 
sociations, civic leagues, women's clubs, State departments and 
other agencies, but enough has been said to illustrate my point and 
I have not the space to describe fully all the sources of aid which 
are continually in our minds as they furnish daily proofs of inter- 
est in the Virginia boys and girls. 




A comfoi'table Virginia country home. 



The State Board of Health of Virginia 




Dr. Ennion Gr. Williams^ Health Commissioner. 

HE Virginia General Assembly of 1908, whose record for 
progress has rarely been equalled in the history of the 
Commonwealth, reorganized the health administration 
of the State in line with modern ideas, and made pos- 
sible an enlargement of the State's health activity com- 
mensurate with her progress in other lines. Under the new law, 
the Board of Health, consisting of twelve practicing physicians, was 
supplemented by an executive staff of trained sanitarians, whose 
whole time was to be given to the work of the board. In addition, 
more liberal appropriations made possible a systematic campaign 
for the improvement of health conditions in the State. 

Realizing the fundamental importance of popular education in 
any sanitary campaign^ the board at once established the Virginia 
Health Bulletin, a popular publication intended to carry the funda- 
mentals of modern sanitation into every home in the State. The 
bulletin met with immediate recognition, both within and without 
the State, and now has the largest circulation of any distinctively 
sanitary publication in the world. It reaches an average of more 
than 60,000 Virginia homes every month. It is written in popular 
style, without technicalities, and treats of the simple yet all import- 
ant things which must be mastered by the average citizen if he 
is to aid in the work for better health. The literature of the board 
was given an award of merit at the International Congress on Hy- 
giene and Demography in "Washington, in 1912. 

To supplement the Health Bulletin, the board has for a number 
of years maintained a press service which furnishes to the news- 
papers of the State a weekly digest of the activities of the board 
with such general information on sanitary matters as is calculated 
to be of the most interest and value to newspaper readers. This 
press service has been warmly received by the newspapers of the 
State and has been of the greatest value in the education of the 
people of the State along sanitary lines. 

The act reorganizing the Board of Health directed the establish- 
ment of a sanatorium for consumptives. In August, 1909, there- 



64 Department of Agriculture 

fore, the board established in the Alleghany mountains, near Sa- 
lem, Va., an institution for the treatment of incipient tuberculosis. 
From a beginning of forty beds, Catawba Sanatorium, as the insti- 
tution is known, has grown to a capacity of 160 and has done in- 
valuable service in the campaign against consumption in the State. 
Located in a charming valley, at an altitude of 2,000 feet, just under 
the slope of one of the highest ranges of mountains in the State and 
on the site of an old watering place long famed for the treatment of 
pulmonary complaints, the institution is a haven of refuge for the 
consumptives of the State. In the results of its treatment it ranks 
with the best in the world. 

Realizing the great value of antitoxin in the treatment of diph- 
theria, and seeing the great limitation to the use of the priceless 
remedy caused by the high retail prices, the board within a few 
weeks of its reorganization made arrangements for the supply of 
antitoxin to all citizens at wholesale prices — about one-fourth those 
which had formerly been charged. The demand for this remedy 
soon reached large proportions and met so marked a need that vac- 
cine virus and anti-typhoid vaccine were supplied in a similar man- 
ner. This arrangement has placed these valuable products within 
the reach of the humblest citizen of the State and has resulted in 
a saving to the citizens of Virginia of an amount almost in itself 
sufficient to pay the whole cost of the board's work. 

For the control of typhoid fever and other infectious diseases, 
the board secured competent assistance and has supplied, without 
cost to any community in the State, the services < l such experts. 
In cases where the local authorities are unable to control any epi- 
demic, the board takes entire charge of the situation until the 
disease has been controlled. 

The laboratory of the board was opened at once to render ex- 
pert laboratory assistance in the diagnosis of infectious diseases 
to the physicians of the State. From a total of 3,800 specimens for 
the first full year of its activity, it examined in 1914 more than 16,- 
000 specimens of all kinds. 

One of the most imperative needs disclosed by the studies of the 
sanitary situation in the State was the control of water supplies 
and sewerage systems. To meet this need the board employed a 
competent sanitary engineer, whose whole time is given to the study 
and inspection of these supplies and systems. Any town or city 
contemplating the establishment of a new plant or the extension 
of any existing water or sewerage plant can secure the services of 
the engineer without cost for expert service, for the revision of 
plans or for a general inspection of the whole situation. The work 
of the sanitary engineer has been reflected in such a marked im- 




•a 
> 



Si 



Hand Book of Virginia 



65 



^^ 


I 


H' 










^^^^^n^K 










^11 


^gJl 


I^I^^^^^^^^^^^^I^I^H^b 


■■■1 


&MII '^-'^' 111 


mk 


►2«j^J^^ 


hP 


^^ 



View of the mountains from the la^vn of the Catawba SanatoriTim of the State of 

Yii'ginia, Koanoke county. 



provement that Virginia now ranks with the first States of the 
Union in this regard. As supplementary to the work of the sani- 
tary engineer, the laboratory makes systematic examination of 
all public waters in the State and of all waters furnished to pas- 
sengers on railroad trains in the State. 

The work of the board was made more exact and efficient 
through the passage by the General Assembly in 1912 of a law for 
the registration of births and 
deaths in the Commonwealth. The 
Bureau of Vital Statistics, organ- 
ized in accordance with the pro- 
visions of this act, immediately 
began the collection of statistics 
of births and deaths, and for the 
year 1913 was admitted to the 
registration area of the United 
States Bureau of the Census. By 
this means the control of disease 
is made more accurate, the re- 
sults of sanitary work can be 
measured, and the vital records 
of the citizens of the State are 
preserved for all time. 

One of the duties imposed on 
the board is the inspection of all 
liotels in the State. These are 
regularly visited and graded by 
an inspector of the board. All 
sanitary laws and regulations af- 
fecting hotels are rigidlj^ en- 
forced. 

In co-operation with the Rocke- 
feller Sanitary Commission^ the 




Portico of the Catawba Sanato- 
rium, Roanoke county, Va., 
winter, 



66 Department of Agriculture 



board carried on during 1909-1914 a systematic campaign against 
hookworm disease, in the course of wMcli the whole State was 
thoroughly evangelized regarding the means of spread, preven- 
tion and cure of that disease. More than 101,000 citizens were ex- 
amined microscopically and more than 25,000 treatments Avere 
dispensed. 

A recent development in the activity of the board has been the 
inspection of the rural school children of a number of counties. 
The population of Virginia being so largely rural, the health of 
rural districts has at all times been a large factor in directing the 
activity of the board, and the work against hookworm disease drew 
attention strongly to the need of medical inspection of school chil- 
dren. In the absence of local machinery for doing this work, the 
board organized and has thus far carried out in four counties of 
the State a systematic medical inspection of every school child. The 
board is planning further extensions of this work to develop a sys- 
tematic plan of regular medical inspection of all school children. 

In addition to the publicity afforded by the health bulletin and 
the press service, the board has maintained for several years a lec- 
ture bureau, which furnishes lecturers without cost to public meet- 
ings in all parts of the State. More than 1,000 lectures annually 
have been delivered under the auspices of this bureau since its 
establishment, and in this way hundreds of thousands of citizens 
have been reached most effectively. 

The prevalence in the State of a considerable number of cases 
of rabies and the high cost of the Pasteur treatment as adminis- 
tered by private institutions led the board to administer Pasteur 
treatment free of cost to the indigent citizens of the State. Ex- 
aminations of rabid animals are made without expense by the 
Hygienic Laboratory, "Washington, D. C. 

The board has recognized from its beginning its duty to con- 
tribute to sanitary knowledge, as well as to perfect sanitary ad- 
ministration. Its officers and employees have carried on regular,, 
systematic researches in various lines. The researches in the preva- 
lence and prevention of rural typhoid fever have been particularly 
complete, and the results have been published in various scientific; 
journals. 

By the means enumerated above and many others, which cannot 
be discussed in detail within the compass of this article, the board 
has sought to bring to the people of this State the fruits of scientific 
knowledge for the prevention of disease in the most effective man- 
ner possible. That its work has been recognized and approved by 
the people is best witnessed by the growing interest in public health, 
throughout the State. 



The State Highway Department 




G. P. Coleman^ Hightvay Commissioner. 

URING the twelve months beginning October, 1913, and 
ending October, 1914, the Highway Commission worked 
in ninety-sis of the hundred counties of the State. In 
that time the forces of the State and counties were em- 
ployed on 403 dii¥erent pieces of road construction, con- 
sisting of 855 miles of road of all classes. In addition to this, we 
have had under contract, in the same period, 91 bridges, making a 
total of 484 pieces of work supervised by the engineers of the de- 
partment. We have 30 convict camps at work in as many different 
counties, representing approximately 1,100 convicts from the State 
penitentiary, and between 500 and 600 prisoners from the county 
and city jails, making a total from all sources of from 1,600 to 
1,700 prisoners who are employed by the State on road work. This 
labor cost the State, to clothe, feed, guard and otherwise provide 
for during the next year, approximately 53 cents per ten-hour 
working day. In the other sixty-odd counties of the State we 
have been working under State money aid and county and district 
bond issue laws. For this purpose, that is. State money aid, the 
State appropriated $185,000 from the general treasury, and in ad- 
dition the automobile tax, which last year amounted to $116,000, 
this money to be distributed to counties which could not receive 
State aid in convict labor. Last year we expended on road and 
bridge work throughout the State approximately $1,767,010. 

Since the organization of this department, the State has ap- 
propriated for road improvement in the various counties of the 
State under the convict road law and the State money aid law 
$2,316,000. To this must be added the bonds issued by the various 
counties of the State, amounting to $6,675,100, making a total fund 
for road and bridge purposes of $8,991,100. During this time we 
have constructed 2,900 miles of surfaced roads, costing a little over 
$7,000,000. The following mileage table will show more clearly 
than anything else the progress of road improvement since the or- 
.i^anization of this department. You will note from this table that 
during the first two years of the department we constructed a total 



Band Booh of Virginia 69 

of only 24 miles, and during the last year we constructed 855 miles, 
certainly a most remarkable increase during a period of seven 
years : 

1906-07 24 miles 

1908 52 miles 

1909 137 miles 

1910 .290 miles 

1911 396 miles 

1912 543 miles 

1913 619 miles 

1914 855 miles 

In addition to this, between 300 and 350 bridges of all classes 
have been constructed. 

The work already done by Virginia in the improvement of her 
roads has added very materially to the comfort of her citizens and 
to the value of her property, and that the State intends to carry 
on the work is evidenced by the fact that the funds for the year 
1915 amount to approximately $2,000,000. 



Population of Principal Virginia Cities. 

Riclimond 153,000 

Norfolk 85,005 

Roanoke 41,000 

Portsmouth 37,569 

Lynchburg 35,000 

Petersburg 28,000 

Newport News 25,000 

Danville 20,210 

Alexandria 17,000 

Staunton '. 12,000 

Suffolk 10,500 

Charlottesville 13,700 

Bristol 20,000 

Fredericksburg 7,000 

Winchester 7,246 

Clifton Forge 7,000 

Harrisonburg 5,000 

Pulaski 6,000 

Covington 6,000 

Radford 5,000 

South Boston 5,000 

Salem 4,515 

Farmville 4,000 



One Hundred Counties in Virginia 




I HE State of Virginia has 100 counties, from the At- 
lantic ocean on the east, the historic Potomac river on 
the north and extending westward 450 miles to the 
Cumberland mountains. 

All of these counties are imbued Avith a progressive 
spirit. Better schools and more buildings are being erected. Im- 
provement in public roads is advancing rapidly. More manufac- 
turing plants of many kinds are in operation. Virginia is growing 
rapidly in manufacturing industries. The homeseeker or investor 
can find what he wants in Virginia, if he will take a look around 
through the State. Following is a brief description of each one 
of the one hundred counties, and in the back of this Hand Book is 
a map shoAving the location of all the cities and counties. 

This county is situated in what is known as the "Eastern 
Shore" section of Virginia, eighty miles east of Richmond, 
ACC03IAC sixty miles from Norfolk, via railroad and steamer. It is 
about forty miles long, with an average width of ten 
miles, and has an area of four hundred and seventy- 
eight square miles. 

Population, census of 1910, 36,650, an increase of 4,080 since census 
of 1900, and this county is among the best of the Virginia counties in 
almost everything that goes to make up a great and thriving rural com- 
munity. 

Its natural advantages are equalled by few and surpassed by none. 
It has a delightful climate, neither extreme of heat or cold, the ther- 
mometer rarely ever reaching ninety-four degrees in summer, or falling 
as low as ten above zero in winter. Delightful sea breezes sweep over 
the land almost every day in summer. With the Atlantic ocean on one 
side and the Chesapeake bay on the other, the air is cooled in summer 
and warmed in winter by those bodies of water. 

The surface of the county is smooth, even, and almost level, drained 
by Pocomoke river and a number of small creeks and inlets. Soil, light 
loam, red clay subsoil, easily tilled, warm and productive. 

Farm products are sweet and Irish potatoes, corn, wheat, oats, vegeta- 
bles, etc. There is no county in the United States that produces as many 
sweet potatoes, nor as fine, as Accomac, it yielding fully five per cent, of 
the whole of that crop made in this country. The money value is enormous. 

Trucking is the leading farm industry. Besides the millions of bushels 
of potatoes sold annually, are abundant crops of onions, garden peas, 
snaps, cabbage, kale, etc. 

The growth of large and small fruits in constantly increasing acreage 
bids fair to make this an important and profitable industry. Apples, 
peaches, blackberries and strawberries are the principal fruits cultivated, 
but all fruits common to the temperate zone thrive well. 



72 



Depart /nent of Agriculture 



The fish and oyster industry is probably more valuable and extensive 
than in any other county of the State. 

This county has been termed the "Hunter's Paradise." Game is 
plentiful, both in winter and summer, on land and on water. The fields 
abound with partridges, the woods and meadows with snipe, woodcock, 
rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, foxes and opossums; the rivers, creeks and 
bays with wild geese, brant ducks, curlew, plover and the sage hen. 

Stock and grazing facilities are very good. Pasturage is good and 
abundant on the ocean and bay sides of the county. 

About sixty-five per cent, of land is in cultivation, balance in timber, 
consisting of oak, pine, chestnut, beech, gum and holly, of which the 
oak and pine are most abundant and valuable, but are being cut rapidly. 

Manufactories consist of lumber mills, barrel factories, flour and corn 
mills, carriage, cart and wagon factories. 

Railroad transportation is excellent, no farm being more than six 
miles from a railroad. 










One county in Virginia grew 12,000 acres in sweet potatoes, being five per 
cent, of the sweet potato crop of tlie United States. 

Water transportation cannot be surpassed, steamers and sail vessels 
on all sides. County is indented on east and west by numerous sounds, 
inlets and smaller water courses navigable nearly their entire length, and 
furnishing means of transportation to the markets of the large cities of 
the North and East, being within eight hours of Philadelphia and Balti- 
more and ten hours of New York. 

Educational advantages are very good — two good academies, several 
public high schools, and one hundred and fifty primary schools. 

Telephone service good throughout the county, every hamlet con- 
nected. 



Ihind Bool- of Yirginia 73 



Churches and mail facilities very desirable, many of the leading 
denominations represented, and churches numerous and convenient. Mail 
facilities excellent. 

Water in upland very good; in lowlands indifferent, unless artesian 
wells are resorted to; good flows can be had at seventy-five or one hun- 
dred feet in depth. 

Health unsurpassed in eastern United States. 

Financial condition of the ocunty is excellent; but little bonded 
debt, and taxation very moderate. 

Accomac, a pretty village with an historical courthouse, is the county 
seat. Its records are very old and interesting. 

This county is one of the big counties of Virginia, and one 

of the oldest. It was carved out of Goochland in 1744, 

ALBE3IARLE and then embraced the large territory now included in 

Albemarle, Amherst, Fluvanna, Nelson, and portions of 

Appomattox, all of these having been formed from it 

since. It is now fifth in area of the one hundred Virginia counties, and 

contains 755 square miles, and a population of 29,871, exclusive of the 

city of Charlottesville. Its altitude is 485 feet. 

Albemarle has a most favorable location as to climate and soil, being 
geographically near the center of the State, with its western portion in the 
Blue Ridge region and its eastern in the Piedmont, reaching into Midland 
Virginia. Its extensive area, being at its greatest length about forty 
miles, and greatest width nearly thirty, gives scope for a diversity of soil 
and some difference in temperature. In the eastern section the soil is dark 
rich red clay, famous for wheat, which has for generations been charac- 
terized as the red wheat lands of Albemarle. Other paying products of 
the soil are corn, grass, oats, all of which yield abundantly under the 
fine tillage, which generally prevails in this county; the apples, peaches 
pears and grapes are remarkably fine. In fact, the foothills and slopes of 
the Blue Ridge, where the soil is lighter and grayish, are the natural 
home of the apple, which reaches its greatest perfection here. The Albe- 
marle pippin, of rare flavor and excellent keeping qualities, which finds a 
most remunerative market abroad, is grown in abundance'. Some of the 
most profitable peach orchards in Virginia are to be found in this county, 
and m some places almost cover the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge from 
base to summit, the warm exposure favoring a size and flavor that makes 
the Albemarle peach popular in every market it reaches, Staunton, Char- 
lottesville, Lynchburg, and Washington competing vigorously for the 
trade, which becomes active early in the season. 

Nowhere in Virginia does grape culture and wine production receive 
more attention than in this favored region, where the grape grows to a 
high degree of perfection, and large fruitful vineyards are seen on every 
hand, furnishing through a long season large shipments to convenient 
city markets, to say nothing of the local demand by town, village and rail- 
car fruit vendors. 

In as good a grass section as this county is, it is natural that much 
attention should be paid to stock raising. Many fine cattle find their 
way to market from the grass fields of Albemarle. As to horses, the 
finest blooded animals are raised, and bring the best prices. 

And sheep raising is a profitable industry, the long woollen breeds 
doing especially well on the luxuriant grasses of the Piedmont lands and 
the finer wool breeds on the more mountainous, in the northern part of 
this county. 

Few sections have better railroad opportunities, or better avail them- 
selves of them. The Chesapeake and Ohio from west to east straight 
through the county, the Southern from north to south intersecting the 




The Virginia peach cannot be excelled in quality. 



Hand Booh of Virginia tS 

former at Charlottesville, and the James river division of tlie Chesapeake 
and Ohio running along the southern border, afford, by their competing 
lines, cheapest access for freight and passenger traffic in every available 
market. 

Among the developments, those of the mineral resources of Albemarle 
have not lagged. There are deposits of soapstone, iron, graphite, slate, 
etc. Large soapstone works have been erected at Alberene, reached by 
a short branch of the Southern railroad, and the output in bathtubs, 
house and kitchen utensils, etc., has developed an extensive industry very 
useful to the county. 

The Albemarle Slate Company works profitably a deposit of slate from 
which the best pencils known to the trade on account of absolute freedom 
from grit, are claimed to be made. 

The Miller School — one of the greatest manual labor institutions in 
the country, with ample endowments — Pantops Academy, and the his- 
torical University of Virginia, furnish rare educational advantages. 

Crozet, on the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, in 
Albemarle county, is located in the center of one of the most famous 
fruit districts in the country, that of the famous Albemarle pippin, and 
is one of the largest fruit shipping points in the State; many thousands of 
barrels of apples have been shipped to all parts of the world. The neighbor- 
ing mountains and vaiieys are well adapted to the growing of peaches, 
apples, strawberries, cherries and other fruits, and these products have 
taken the grand prizes at the Chicago, St. Louis, Buffalo and Jamestown 
Expositions. The peaches grown here are fully the equal of the Georgia 
peach, and the October peach does not come in competition with other 
Southern peaches, ripening as it does after the others are gone. 

This county embraces one of the earliest settled portions 
of the State. As early as 1669 a colonial patent was 
AIiEXANDRIA laid on most of the land now included in the county, and 
settlements made a few years after. It was originally a 
part of Fairfax county, during which time it was ceded 
to the General Government, and later (in 1846) was receded to Virginia, 
made a separate county, and named after its principal city, Alexandria. 
This county has ever been intimately associated with the name of General 
Washington, the seat of much of his early life and operations, and its loca- 
tion has rendered it prominent in many of the thrilling scenes of that day, 
and later. It is ten miles long and averages two and one-half miles in 
width; located in the northeast part of the State, ninety miles north of 
Richmond. 

The roads of the county are among the best in northern Virginia, 
and are constantly being improved. 

The climate is delightful; in summer, temperate; in winter, changea- 
ble, but not severe. 

Excellent markets are afforded by the cities of Alexandria, Washing- 
ton, Georgetown, and a rapidly increasing non-productive population in 
the various towns of the county. The transportation facilities bring the 
producer of the county into close connection with the markets of the East 
and West, and many products of fruits, vegetables, poultry, and flowers 
are shipped in large quantities to these cities and bring fine returns to 
the producers. No section affords better facilities for marketing anything 
that can be produced by the fruit grower, the poultrj^man, the dairyman, 
the trucker and the florist. 

The area of the county is the smallest in the State, having thirty-two 
square miles — 2 0,480 acres. Average size farm, sixty-five acres — in 19 00 
— at present much less. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 10,231; numerous villages. 



1l6 Department of Agriculture 

with handsome homes, have sprung up like magic along the electric roads, 
with from 50 to 1,000 inhabitants, notably Clarendon, Ballston, Mt. Ida, 
and Kosemont, the first two in the center and the last in the southern end 
of the county. An expenditure of over $100,000 has been made for im- 
provements at Rosemont, which is as fine a subdivision as can be found 
anywhere. 

The Potomac railroad yards, belonging to the Washington-Southern, 
are among the largest classification yards in the country, and cover over 
1,000 acres, with a river frontage of about two miles, costing up to the 
present time over $4,000,000, and giving employment to about 600 people. 

Manufactures are bricks (the yards supplying Washington with 
80,000,000 annually), abattoir, pork packing, brewery, large railroad and 
electric shops and yards, milling, lumber, sash, doors, and blinds, glass 
and fertilizers, canning, cotton seed oil, lard, etc. 

This does not include those of Alexandria City, which consists of 
brick, shoes, overalls, boxes, glass and woodwork, barytes mills, knitting 
mills and machine shops, canning works and fertilizers, brooms, baskets, 
electrical supplies, brewery, bottling soft drinks, shipyards, aprons, silk, 
leather, drugs, factories. 

The county has a national bank, and the advantages of the banks of 
Alexandria and Washington afford ample financial facilities for all indus- 
tries. 

Soil fertile, especially the bottom along the streams (which are nume- 
rous), is well adapted to fruit, grain and garden truck. 

It is watered and drained by the Potomac and its tributaries, of which 
Hunting creek, the southern boundary of Alexandria city, is worthy of 
special mention, as a beautiful body of water fifteen or twenty feet in 
depth, and a safe harbor for vessels. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, and potatoes, the latter, 
both sweet and Irish, being a very important and profitable crop to the 
farmer. 

Fruits and vegetables of all varieties do well, and are raised in great 
abundance. There is no section of the State more highly favored as to a 
market for trucking, dairy and poultry products, and these constitute an 
important and profitable industry to the county. 

The waters abound in water fowl and fish of choice variety, such as 
bass, rock, shad and herring. 

There is considerable timber, such as white and red oak, chestnut and 
chestnut oak, poplar, maple, cedar, pine and locust. 

Water power consists of Great and Little Falls of Potomac, the finest 
in the State. 

Minerals and mineral waters are, of the former, brownstone, soap- 
stone and clay for brickmaking; of the latter, sulphur and iron. 

Water, steam and electric transportation place this county in quick, 
convenient and extensive communication with all sections of the country. 
With the Potomac river as an important water highway, and the railroads 
represented by the Baltimore and Ohio, Southern, Chesapeake and Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Seaboard, and Atlantic Coast Line, besides electric lines con- 
necting with Mt. Vernon, Falls Church, Great Falls and Naricks, no section 
of Virginia has better transportation facilities. 

Telephone service is good, represented by the Southern Bell and 
Home. 

Educational advantages consist of a large number of excellent public 
and private schools. 

Churches, mail facilities, water, health and financial conditions re- 
ported first class. 

Arlington, famous as having been the home of the Custis and Lee 
families, is in this county, a few miles above Alexandria. It was pur- 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



77 



chased by the National Government, and a portion of it appropriated to 
a National cemetery. 

Upon this historic place are also located Fort Myer, where a large 
force of United States troops are stationed, and the National Experiment 
station. 

Three bridges connect the county with Washington — the chain 
bridge, the aqueduct bridge, and the highway bridge- — the latter costing 
$1,000,000. 

Large sales of unimproved land were made during December, 1909, 
ranging in price from $300 to $1,000 per acre, and options were taken 
upon a great portion of the remaining large acreage at even higher 
prices. 

This county was formed in 1822 from Bath, Botetourt 
and Monroe. It is situated in the western part of the 
AliJjJKGHAJVY State, 124 miles west of Richmond, is 2 6 miles long, with 
a mean breadth of 20 miles — an area of 452 square 
miles. Altitude 1,295 feet. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, is 14,173. 

Climate very healthful and invigorating, and in summer delightful. 

Soil, light clay loam, very productive, especially on water courses; 
watered and drained by the Jackson and Cow Pasture rivers, and other 
small streams, notably Potts and Dunlap creeks, which also furnish very 




One hundred and fifteen bushels of corn per acre. 

superior water power. The mountains contain immense quantities of 
valuable timber, such as oak, hickory, poplar, pine, ash and chestnut, 
large quantities of which are sawed and exported. 

The iron and ore deposits of this county are very extensive and 
valuable, and are attracting the attention of capitalists, who have invested 
largely in ore lands and in the erection of furnaces; also granite and 
cement limestone have been developed, and hydraulic cement manufactured. 

Game of all kinds is abundant, offering an inviting field for sportsmen. 

Farm products are corn, oats, wheat, fruit and dairying. Stock rais- 
ing is also a very valuable and important industry. This county is well 
supplied with churches, schools, newspapers, and railroads, the Chesa- 



'^8 Department of Agriculture 

peake and Ohio railroad traversing the county, connecting with the Warm 
Springs branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio at Covington, in this county. 
No county in the State, perhaps, can boast of more thrifty growing 
towns in the last decade, notably Covington, Clifton Forge, and Low Moor. 
Low Moor, on the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, is a place of con- 
siderable importance. The Low Moor Iron Furnace is located here, pro- 
ducing large quantities of iron of superior quality, and giving employment 
to a large number of people. 

This county, formed from Prince George in 17 34, located 
in the southeast central portion of the State on the south 
AMELIA bank of the Appomattox river, twenty-seven miles south- 
west of Richmond, is thirty miles long and about ten miles 
in width; area, 3 55 square miles; its altitude is 3 61 feet. 
Surface is undulating, lands productive. Soil, chocolate, red clay, 
and gray loam, with clay subsoil, the latter readily improved, and espe- 
cially adapted to wheat, corn, oats and tobacco, which are the principal 
farm products — especially tobacco, of which about 2,000,000 pounds of 
fine quality is produced annually. Potatoes, other vegetables, fruits, and 
dairy products are also important and profitable industries. 

The climate is temperate; winter short and mild; summer pleasant, 
without extremes of heat. This county is well watered with freestone 
springs, and wells are to be had at an average depth of thirty feet, besides 
numerous springs and valuable mineral properties. Climate is healthful, 
churches and public schools numerous and convenient. It is drained and 
watered by the Appomattox river and its tributaries. The Appomattox, in 
the northern portion of the county, is open for navigation to Petersburg. 

The Southern railway passes through the center of the county, and 
the Norfolk and Western near the southeastern border. 

This county, a daughter of Albemarle, v/as made a sepa- 
rate county in 17 61. James river skirts its whole south- 
AMHERST east and southwest boundary for fifty miles, furnishing, 
with Pedlar and Buffalo rivers, an extent of broad and 
fertile bottom lands of which few counties in the State 
can boast. The altitude is 629 feet. The county has a length of twenty- 
two miles, and a mean width of nineteen, while its area is 464 square 
miles, and its population, by the census of 1910, 18,932. The propor- 
tion of colored inhabitants has decreased considerably in the last few 
years, and the white farmers are depending largely more on their own 
labor, which is more reliable and efficient. 

The crops raised are principally tobacco, corn, wheat, while the 
soil and climate are well adapted to oats and grass, but tobacco may be 
regarded as the principal money crop, and is of fine weight and texture, 
the farmers realizing at this time good prices, higher than of late years. 
The red lands along the valley of the Blue Ridge and Tobacco Row moun- 
tains are very fine, easily cultivated and retentive of farm manures, pro- 
ducing finely clover, timothy, and orchard grass, following tobacco and 
wheat. 

While Amherst is among the leading agricultural counties in the 
State, it is rapidly advancing to the front as a fruit section, yielding that 
popular variety, the winesap, abundantly, and the celebrated Albemarle 
pippin succeeds admirably. The eastern slopes of the mountains are 
favorable to the culture of grapes, the vine flourishing and yielding 
kindly to proper culture. 

Timber is oak, hickory, pine, walnut, chestnut, and locust, princi- 
pally, much of the best of it being converted profitably into lumber. 

Amherst several years ago took the lead in improved roads under the 



Hand Bool- of Virginia 79 

State plan, and has built and completed sixty miles of the best macadam 
and sand-clay roads in the State, leading from Lynchburg through the 
county in several directions. 

The county contains immense and valuable outputs of minerals, such 
as magnetic and specular iron, well suited for the manufacture of steel 
by the Bessemer process. 

The celebrated soapstone vein through Albemarle and Nelson extends 
through Amherst, and is valuable, lying between the Southern and Chesa- 
peake and Ohio railways, about five miles from each. 

There is considerable grazing of cattle on the indigenuous grass of 
the mountains by stockmen who buy elsewhere and bring them to this 
section, where they can be cheaply kept. This is quite a business in 
Amherst. 

Church and school privileges are not neglected. In fact, one of the 
finest equipped female seminaries in the South, known as Sweet Briar 
Institute, is located on a grand old estate two miles from Amherst court- 
house and twelve from Lynchburg, on the Southern railroad. It is 
the result of an endowment of $800,000 in money and land, and was 
opened in the fall of 1906, and has brilliant prospects of success. 

Amherst, the county seat, is a pleasant little town on the Southern 
railway, fourteen miles from Lynchburg. It has two weekly papers, a 
bank, six stores and some very desirable family residences. 

This historic county was formed in 1845 from the 
neighboring counties of Buckingham, Campbell, Prince 
APPOMATTOX Edward and Charlotte. It is about sixty-five miles air- 
line, 10 miles by rail, west from Richmond; twenty- 
six miles long and eighteen miles wide, with an area 
of 342 square miles, and a population, by the last United States census, 
of 8,904. The county is well watered by the James river, forming its 
northwestern boundary, and its tributaries; by the Appomattox and 
its tributaries, and by some of the tributaries of Staunton river. Its 
average altitude is 825 feet. 

The surface of the county is generally rolling, and even hilly 
in many portions, though there is a large proportion of bottom land 
along the rivers and creeks, which water the county well and furnish 
ample water power that is utilized to a considerable extent by several 
good grist and sawmills, though there is much of the finest power un- 
developed as yet, and the county as a whole is the first level county east 
of the Blue Ridge mountains. 

The soil is varied, consisting largely of a stiff red clay, easily im- 
proved, responding well to the use of fertilizers and prudent cultivation, 
similar in character to the famous red wheat lands of Albemarle, and 
producing that grain well, when properly treated. There is also much 
gray, light and friable slate soil, and tne bottoms are rich and productive. 

Tobacco is the princioal crop, and grass and hay are very profitable; 
$146 net for one acre of white Burley tobacco; ninety-one bushels ot 
shelled corn to the acre, and three tons of hay to the acre, weighed and 
measured. Stock, fruit and vegetables do well here. 

Oak, hickory, walnut, chestnut, and maple timber are abundant and 
are being profitably worked. 

The educational advantages and religious facilities are ample, being 
furnished by a number of good schools and prosperous churches. 

Anpomattox, the county seat, on the Norfolk and Western railroad, 
about twentv-flve miles from Lynchburg and thirty-five miles from Farm- 
ville, is a prosperous new town, with fine new courthouse, jail and offices, 
two live newspapers, bank, three good hotels, ten stores and handsome 
residences. Lawyers, physicians, real estate agents, with local and long 



80 



Department of Agriculture 



distance telephone connection, manufacturing mill, sawmill, a drug store, 
and tobacco warehouses. 

A handsome agricultural college has just been completed at a cost 
of $20,000 — free tuition. 

Three miles northeast is Old Appomattox Courthouse, known locally 
as "The Surrender Ground," where General R. E. Lee surrendered April 
9, 186.5, the depleted remnant of the Confederate army, to the overwhelm- 
ing Federal forces under General Grant, thus making this one of the most 
famous spots in the country, ranking with Yorktown, where Cornwallis 
surrendered to Washington 19th October, 1781. 

The Federal authorities have added greatly to the attractiveness of 
the "Surrender Ground," which embraces several hundred acres, by plac- 




No State produces finer clover liay than Virginia. 

ing enduring metal tablets at various notable points, such as Lee's head- 
quarters, Grant's headquarters, the traditional apple tree, the place where 
the old McLean house, in which the surrender took place, stood, now a 
ruin as well as most of the houses in the old village. The Confederates 
have also placed on the grounds two handsome monuments, one by Vir- 
ginians, the other by North Carolinians, and an effort is being made to 
have Congress establish a National Park here, which will, perhaps, ulti- 
mately be accomplished. 

This county was formed from Orange in 1738, and ranks 

among the first of the counties in the great Shenandoah 

AUGUSTA valley and of the State in importance and first in area. 

It is situated near the head of the Shenandoah valley, 

in the southwestern part of the State, being thirty-five 

miles long and thirty miles wide, containing an area of 1,012 square 

miles. Average size farms, 175 acres. The aggregate value of its real 



Hand Book of Virginia 81 



estate exceeds any other county in the State. Altitude 1,380 feet, at 
Staunton. 

The eastern and western sections of the county are uneven and moun- 
tainous, central portion undulating. The lands are varied in character, 
very fertile and productive, yielding large crops of corn, oats, wheat, rye 
and the grasses — natural and cultivated. The county ranks at the head 
of the list of counties of the State in the production of v/heat, hay and 
oats, yielding over one-half million bushels of wheat and twenty-five 
thousand tons of hay. It is also noted for the number and superior 
quality of its flouring mills, one of which has a capacity of 500 barrels 
per day. 

Stock raising is also one of its most profitable and important indus- 
tries, its mountain ranges affording excellent pasturage, and its abundant 
hay crop available for winter feed. 

Under such favorable conditions this county has become noted for its 
fine horses, cattle and sheep, and its abundance of dairy products. 

Minerals are numerous, consisting of iron, manganese, coal, kaolin, 
slate, marble and limestone, much of which has been developed. The 
Crimora Manganese Mines Co. have sold over $1,000,000 of their output, 
and are working to advantage. Some of the most noted natural curiosities 
of the State are to be found in this county, such as Weyers Cave of Foun- 
tains, the Cyclopean Towers or Natural Chimneys, and Elliott Knob of 
the North mountains, 4,437 feet high, ranks among the highest points in 
Virginia. Churches and schools are of unusual number and convenience. 
No section in the State is more highly favored in this respect. The popula- 
tion of the county was, by the census of 1910, 32,445. 

The county is well supplied with railroads. The Valley pike, a well- 
kept macadam road between Staunton and Winchester, ninety miles, is 
equal to any road in Virginia. Staunton, the county seat, is the most 
important city of the Shenandoah valley, and has the distinction of being 
the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson. Here is also located the 
Western State Hospital for the Insane and The Virginia School for the 
Deaf and Blind, where the children are given a good education as well as 
in the arts. 

Waynesboro, the largest town, is an important business center for 
one of the richest sections of the county, having several excellent banks, sev- 
eral prosperous manufactories, a large flouring mill and some of the largest 
stores in the county. It has large and prosperous Presbyterain, Baptist 
and Methodist churches, and the best of schools, embracing the Fishburne 
Military Academy, the Valley Female Seminary and a well-conducted 
graded public school. Basic City, Craigsville, Fordwick, the seat of the 
large Portland Cement Works; Greenville, Middlebrook, Mt. Solon, Mt. 
Meridian, Mt. Sidney, Stuart's Draft, and others, interspersed among the 
rich and prosperous sections of the county. These towns are all well 
provided with telephones — in fact, no county in the State has a better 
telephone system, which reaches every village and farming community 
In the county. 

This county has in recent years planted many fruit trees and has some 
of the best orchards in the State. 

This county, located on the western border of the State, 
120 miles northwest of Richmond, was organized in 1790 
BATH from parts of Augusta, Botetourt, and Greenbrier coun- 

ties; eleven hours by Chesapeake and Ohio railroad 
from Cincinnati, six and one-half hours by rail from 
Washington, D. C, and Richmond, Va. Its mean altitude is 2,195 feet. 

Its people are originally Scotch-Irish, having come from Pennsyl- 
vania to this section, beginning about 1740. Contains a population, by 
census 1910, of 6,538. Area of county, 548 square miles. 



Hand Boole of Virginia 83 



A portion of the county is mountainous; tlie balance rich bottom lands, 
very fertile, thougli small in area, well watered by its numerous springs 
and Cow Pasture and Jackson rivers. 

The climate and scenery are unsurpassed. Reference to the Weather 
Bureau reports of the United States show this county to possess a very 
equable temperature of neither very great extremes of heat or cold, and 
ample rainfall, well distributed. 

The most widely known are Warm Springs, the county seat; the Hot 
Springs, five miles south of the Warm Springs; Healing Springs, eight 
miles south of Warm Springs; Bath Alum, five miles east of the Warm 
Springs; Millboro Springs, twelve miles east of the Warm Springs and two 
miles distant from Millboro depot; Walla-Watoola, one mile south of 
Millboro Springs, and Bolar Springs, seventeen miles north of Warm 
Springs. Great numbers of visitors resort to these springs in the sum- 
mer time and to the Virginia Hot Springs all the year round, bringing 
into the county and distributing much ready money for supplies. 

The industries of the county are mainly farming, grazing, tanbark 
and lumber business. Principal products are hay, corn, wheat and oats. 

Fruit culture is also important and profitable in this county, embrac- 
ing apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, grapes and berries, all of which 
produce fine crops and find a ready home market at good prices. Large 
apple and peach orchards abound of increasing size and number. 

Grazing facilities are unexcelled. Most of the lands take naturally 
to grass; all you have to do in most sections to obtain a sod is to cut off the 
timber, let in the sunshine, and the grasses spring up without further 
attention; and in the woods there is a rich growth of wild grasses and 
other wild growth, on which cattle and sheep do well for six months in 
the year. When they come from the mountain ranges, as they are called, 
without any cost other than salting them, they are fat and ready for 
the markets. 

Washington, Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, in a 
few hours' run, are excellent markets for the sale of stock. 

Timber is abundant, except on the main line of the Chesapeake and 
Ohio railroad, where it has been culled out. There are large and valuable 
bodies of pine, oak, poplar and hickory timber, and some walnut, locust 
and cherry; scarcely a section of the county but has one or more steam 
sawmills in operation, and some equipped with planing machinery. 

This county was formed in 1753 from Lunenburg, and 
lies at the eastern base of the Blue Ridge mountains, 
BEDFORD in the southwest central part of the State, 100 miles 
southwest of Richmond. It is one of the largest coun- 
ties of the State, being forty miles long and about thirty 
miles wide, containing an area of 729 square miles. Its average alti- 
tude is 900 feet. 

Surface is broken, and, in western portion, mountainous, but very 
productive, and well watered by springs, brooks and creeks, with Otter 
southwest borders. 

river in center, and the James and Staunton rivers on northeast and 
Climate is mild and healthful, attracting large numbers of visitors 
from the South, who spend their summers at the various hotels and 
summer boarding houses that are open each season for the accommoda- 
tion of guests. This is one of the richest and most productive and 
thickly settled counties in the James river valley, containing a popula- 
tion, census of 1910, of 29,549. 

The soil is red clay and light gray, or slate, producing abundant 
crops of wheat, corn, rye, oats and tobacco, average yield of which is 
abount fifteen bushels of wheat, twenty-five bushels of corn, twenty 
bughels of rye, twenty-five bushels of oats, and 1,000 to 1,500 pounds 



84 Department of Agriculture 



of tobacco per acre. The latter is probably the most profitable industry 
of the county. Fruit is also worthy of special mention, and this county 
may be very promptly classed as one of the five fruit counties of the 
State, the mountainous portions of which are especially adapted to fruit 
of all kinds, and in this section blue grass is indigenous, affording most 
excellent grazing facilities. The dairy interest is also of considerable 
importance and profit to this section. 

Timber is extensive and valuable, embracing walnut, chestnut, 
hickory, pine, poplar, locust and oak. 

The celebrated Peaks of Otter, noted for their sublime, picturesque 
scenery, are situated in this county, a few miles from Bedford City, the 
county seat. They have an altitude of 4,001 feet above sea level, and 
can be seen, under favorable conditions of atmosphere, from beyond 
Lynchburg, fifty-five miles distant. 

Bedford City, the county seat, on the Norfolk and Western railroad, 
is located near the centre of the county, and surrounded by a beautiful 
picturesque section of country. It contains a number of tobacco fac- 
tories, several warehouses, woolen and spoke factories, fiouring and 
planing mills and machine shops, besides numerous churches, news- 
papers, schools — public and private, including the Randolph-Macon 
Academy — banks, water works, and plant for electric lights. Population 
by census of 1910, 2,416. 

This county was formed in 18 61 from Wythe, Giles and 
Tazewell, and is located in southwestern part of the 

BLAND State, 195 miles southwest of Richmond. Population, 

census of 1910, 5,154. 

It contains an area of 352 square miles. Surface is 
broken and mountainous to a considerable extent. Portions of the lat- 
ter are very valuable for grazing purposes, and the valley lands are very 
rich. 

Soil black loam and reddish clay, very productive and well adapted 
to the usual farm products of this section, such as corn, rye, oats, wheat, 
buckwheat, potatoes and the grasses, especially blue grass, which is 
indigenous to this section, and, in consequence, stock raising has be- 
come the most profitable industry of the county, especially cattle and 
sheep, large numbers of which are of fine quality and are shipped an- 
nually to the large markets, or sold to the dealers who come into the 
county to buy. This county is also well adapted to fruits of all kinds, 
that grow to great perfection. 

The timbers of this county are walnut, poplar, pine, oak, ash, hem- 
lock, sugar tree, hickory and beech, and abound in large quantities 
of exceptionally fine quality. This is destined to be a valuable industry 
in the county when reached by railroads, which would also develop the 
valuable mineral deposits of this section, consisting of iron, coal, lead, 
zinc, copper, manganese, slate, kaolin, ochre, barytes, and slate. Coal 
is also found and mined. 

Mineral springs are numerous and of fine medicinal quality. Some 
have been improved and opened to summer visitors, notably Sharon 
Springs, which is a delightful resort 2,850 feet above sea level, with 
a climate unexcelled, dry and exhilarating, and an abundance of clear, 
pure water — limestone and freestone. No more healthful section of 
country is to be found, and it is an Eldorado for the sportsman, with its 
abundance of game and streams abounding with fish, embracing the 
noted mountain trout. 

Schools and churches are numerous and convenient. Financial con- 
ditions are good, with a very flattering outlook for future progress and 
advancement. 

Sed^on, the counter seat^ located near the centre of the county, has 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



85 



a flourishing mill, high school, newspaper, two churches. It is centrally 
and conveniently located, with good turnpike roads diverging north, 
south, east and west. 

This county, named in honor of Lord Botetourt, Gover- 
nor of the Colony in 1768, was formed in 1770 from 
BOTETOURT Augusta, extending at the time of formation to the Mis- 
sissippi river. Its present limits are forty-five miles 
long and eighteen miles wide, situated between the Blue 
Ridge and Alleghany mountains, in the western part of the State, 115 
miles west of Richmond. Altitude, 1,250 feet. It contains a population, 
by census of 1910, of 17,727. 

Area, 548 square miles; surface rolling, partly mountainous; cen- 
tral portion a beautiful valley, very fertile; soil loam, with clay subsoil, 
well adapted to the production of grain, grasses, tobacco, fruits, etc.; 
the mountain ranges affording excellent pasturage for horses, cattle and 
sheep, of which superior breeds are raised. The fine blue grass sod, 
to which the land runs naturally, renders dairying an important industry. 








One county sold $1,000,000 worth of canned products in one year. 

Tobacco is also produced to some extent, and of superior quality, but 
fruit and vegetable culture, to which this county is especially adapted, 
is probably its most important and profitable industry, bringing to the 
county large revenues. 

It is a notable fact that Botetourt has more canneries than any 
other county in the State, numbering about 175, and even stands near 
the head of the list in the United States in that industry, tomatoes 
being the chief product. So great was the demand for cans here, that 



Hand Booh of Virginia 87 

in 1903 the Virginia Can Company organized in Buchanan — by Mr. O. 
C. Huffman, of Staunton, Virginia, its head ever since — which succeeded 
from the outset, made and sold 2,250,000 cans that year, the second 
year over 7,000,000, and in 1905 nearly 10,000,000 tin cans. This com- 
pany sold in 1906, 13,000,000 cans; 1907, 16,000,000 cans; in 1908, 
14,000,000; and in 1909, 11,000,000 cans. The cause of the falling 
off in 1908 and 1909 was due to the fact that the Old Dominion Can 
Company at Troutville (this county), was established; this company 
did not make very many cans in 1907, but succeeded very well the fol- 
lowing years. This immense product of home enterprise goes in carload 
lots to North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, and other Southern States, 
and to the far West. A well-equipped box-making plant, which furnishes 
cases in which much of the output is shipped, has been recently added 
to the establishment, and the orders for this year indicate a larger busi- 
ness than ever before. Peaches, corn, apples and berries are also large 
products of the Botetourt canneries, the total amount of canned goods 
reaching the enormous figure of from 250,000 to 350,000 cases annually. 
Railroads are the Chesapeake and Ohio and Norfolk and Western, 
with their branches, which extend through the length and breadth of the 
county, furnishing easy and ready access to all principal markets. 

Rivers are the James and its numerous tributaries, also Cow Pasture 
and Jackson rivers, which afford superior water power. 
Principal towns are Fincastle and Buchanan. 

Fincastle, the county seat, has a population of 652, daily mails, 
telegraph and express communications, several churches and public 
schools, newspaper, bank, woolen mill, canning factory, foundry, plan- 
ing mill, tannery, harness shops, machine shops, and spoke, stave and 
handle factory. 

This county, bordering on North Carolina, and about 
fifty miles southwest of Richmond, is one of the lead- 
BRUNSWICK ing agricultural counties in Virginia. It was Bruns- 
wick which took the first prize at the Jamestown Expo- 
sition for having the best county agricultural exhibit, 
and it was of this county that the present Governor of Virginia said, 
"that it produces a greater variety of crops than any other in the State." 
The reasons that Brunswick stands foremost among her sister coun- 
ties are numerous: Lands naturally rich, respond to improvements with 
wonderful celerity; the climate is ideal for agricultural purposes, the 
winters being cool and pleasant and the summers warm enough to ma- 
ture crops, but not too hot to be uncomfortable, and lithia water abounds 
on every farm. All of these and other natural advantages, have at- 
tracted a population without equal for industry, thrift, morality and 
other qualities, which make the best, happiest and most independent 
rural life. Thus, with such citizenship, churches and schools have been 
erected within close reach of all, and every Sunday the word of God 
can be heard with no inconvenience, and the children attend the public 
schools without trouble. The lands are rolling, and a healthier com- 
munity cannot be found anywhere. 

Three railroads cross the county, and place the farmers in close 
and immediate touch with the leading markets of the world. 

Lawrenceville, the county seat, is located in the centre of the county, 
and has a population of 2,500, and with its splendid stores, excellent 
banking facilities and market advantages, adds materially to the com- 
fort, convenience and pleasure of agricultural life in the county. 

The principal crops raised are dark and bright tobacco of the finest 
grades, cotton, peanuts, corn of unsurpassed quality, wheat, oats, al- 
falfa, and nearly every variety of grasses, fruits, vegetables of almost 
all kinds in delicious profusion, and live stock which fill the smoke houses 
and which would make dairying prosper, even as the "green bay tree." 



Department of Agriculture 



The principal timbers of the county are pine, oak, hickory, poplar, 
and other soft woods, and in no county do they thrive and grow more 
rapidly. On an open field, if uncultivated, pines spring up indigenously, 
and will become marketable timber within twenty years. A good deal 
of virgin forest still stands, and "second growth" can be purchased at 
reasonable prices. 

The population is 19,244. 

This county, formed in 1858 from Russell and Tazewell, 

and named in honor of President Buchanan, is located 

BUCHANAN in Southwest Virginia, and is one of the extreme border 

counties of the State, 250 miles southwest of Richmond. 

Area, 492 square miles. Average size farms, 23 6 acres. 

Lands are low, but have a speculation interest on account of immense 

mineral deposits. 

Surface is rugged and mountainous. Comparatively little of the 
land is under cultivation, balance in timber. Soil of a sandy nature, 
and fertile. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, rye, oats, millet, tobacco, potatoes, 
buckwheat, hay and sorghum. Wheat is well adapted to this section, 
and is receiving special attention. Stock raising and dairying are also 
sources of some revenue. Fruits of all kinds, especially grapes, do well, 
but are only grown sufficiently for home consumption. 

The great importance attached to this county is its vast wealth of 
iron, coal and timber, which is attracting capital, and a large influx of 
population. Bituminous coal of fine quality and large quantity is found 
in veins from five to eleven feet in thickness. Timber of the usual kinds 
— ^but the most valuable of which are oak, poplar, ash and walnut — 
abound in large area and superior quality to any county in the State, 
perhaps, the getting out and rafting of which to Cincinnati and other 
points by the Big Sandy river, a branch of the Ohio, and its manufac- 
ture in the county by a number of extensive plants, afford employment 
to the largest number of people, and is a source of greatest revenue to 
the county and its inhabitants. 

Reference to the various lumber plants operating in this county 
will convey an idea of the extent of this valuable industry. 

Mineral waters are found to some extent, the most important of 
which are the Healing Springs. 

Educational advantages consist of the usual county free schools. 

As to churches, mail facilities, financial condition, progress, and 
general advancement, the conditions of this county are fairly favorable, 
and rapidly improving. 

The climate, owing to elevation, is moist and cool. The weather 
station at Freeling (near by) reports the average temperature 52.4 de- 
grees; rainfall 60.1. 

Total population of the county, census of 1910, is 12,334. 

Grundy, the county seat, situated near centre of the county, has a 
population of 200, several churches, mills and factories, public school, 
a newspaper, etc. Its nearest railroad station is Richlands, on Clinch 
Valley railroad, distant about twenty-five miles. 

This county is located in the central part of the 
State, on south side of James river, about half way be- 
BUCKINGHAM tween Richmond and Lynchburg, and distant from each 
about fifty miles. It is thirty-five miles long and twenty- 
four miles wide; altitude, 550 feet. 

It was originally a portion of Albemarle county, from which it was 
detached and formed into a county in the year 17 61, containing an area 
of 552 square miles. 

Surface is generally level, with large quantity of bottom land on 
the rivers, but rolling and hilly in some parts. 



Hand BooTc of Virginia 89 

Soil is a gray and black loam, with red clay subsoil, which produces 
abundantly when brought to a high state of cultivation. There is a 
strip of black land from four to six miles wide extending across the 
western portion of the county, which, under the old regime before the 
war, was in a high state of improvement and was considered the garden 
spot of Buckingham. 

Farm products are tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, hay, rye, buckwheat, 
etc. Tobacco is the staple crop of the county, producing about five mil- 
lion pounds annually. This tobacco is a dark shipping variety and is 
in good demand for English, Austrian and Italian markets. In some 
sections an acre of tobacco will bring to the planter $100, and the aver- 
age may be placed at from $40 to $60 per acre. 

Wheat in the clay lands produces abundantly, yielding as much as 
thirty bushels to the acre, the average yield being from ten to fifteen 
bushels per acre. Corn, oats and hay also do well under careful and 
systematic cultivation. 

Fruits and vegetables, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, 
strawberries, melons, potatoes, garden vegetables, etc., are in abundance. 
Stock and grazing facilities are fairly good; small cattle and sheep 
do well. 

Timber lands embrace a large area of the usual varieties, such as 
oak, poplar, walnut, pine, hickory, chestnut, maple, etc., much of which 
is sawed and marketed, and large quantities converted into hoops, staves, 
shingles, and railroad ties. 

This county is rich in minerals — copper, iron, gold, silver, slate, 
barytes, mica, limestone, soapstone, and asbestos. Her minerals are 
practically undeveloped, and untold wealth locked up in her borders is 
waiting for capital to liberate and utilize them for the benefit of man- 
kind. There are three distinct gold-bearing veins two to fifteen feet 
wide, which extend across the county in a northeastern direction. Before 
the war these were worked extensively in a good many places, but owing 
to the crude methods of reducing ore and the process of removing the 
sulphur they were abandoned. Three companies have now acquired lo- 
cations on these veins, and are making investigations, preparatory to 
work, which promise better results than ever before. 
Population of the county, census of 1910, 15,204. 
Buckingham Courthouse (Maysville), the county seat, is a thriving 
village, situated near the centre of the county, and reached by a branch 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio at New Canton. 

Arvonia is a growing town, owing to the slate mines at that place 
employing a large number of men, and a rapidly increasing output in 
that business. It contains a large graded school, several good churches, 
numerous residences, and others being erected. 

This county, formed in 1781 from Bedford, and named 
for General William Campbell, a famous Revolutionary 
CAMPBELL officer, is situated in the south central part of the State, 

five hours ride from Washington, six from Baltimore, 
and ten from New York; 145 miles by rail southwest 
from Richmond. 

It is nearly a square, twenty-five miles each way, and contains 554 
square miles, seventy-five per cent, of which is cultivated. Price of lands, 
location, and facilities of transportation considered, few sections of the 
State offer better inducements to homeseekers. The surface is rolling 
and hilly; the soil, red clay in northern part, sandy in southern, and very 
fertile. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye and tobacco; the improved 
lands producing from fifteen to thirty bushels of wheat, and from fifty 
to seventy-five bushels of corn per acre; and the annual production of 
tobacco being from four to five million pounds, and of excellent quality. 



90 Department of Agriculture 

The grasses, such as red clover, orchard and timothy, grow well, and, 
with proper attention and management, produce abundant crops. This 
county is especially adapted to fruit of the various kinds, such as apples, 
peaches, pears, plums, cherries, melons, grapes, berries, etc.; and is 
specially noted for the flavor, size and quality of its peaches. Vegetables 
and dairy products are considerable sources of revenue. Stock, raising 
is profitably engaged in, but not to the extent that the favorable condi- 
tions would justify. The climate and soil are especially well adapted 
to the raising of sheep. Transportation facilities are unsurpassed; one 
trunk line — the Southern railway — extending north and south — two 
trunk lines — the Norfolk and Western, and the Chesapeake and Ohio — 
extending east and west; and the third, the Lynchburg and Durham, 
south. The Southern and the Lynchburg and Durham traverse the 
county its full length from north to south; and all its lines of railway 
have connection at Lynchburg, on the northern border, and combine to 
give the county superior market facilities in every direction. Lynch- 
burg also affords an extensive and lucrative market for all farm 
products. 

Iron ore, manganese, and barytes, are the most important and valu- 
able minerals; the last two being developed and worked to some extent. 

Population, independent of the city of Lynchburg, census of 1910, 
23,043. 

Rustburg, the county seat, is situated near the centre of the county, 
on the Lynchburg and Durham division of the Norfolk and Western 
railroad. It has graded streets, two public schools, three churches, one 
fraternal order, and a population of about 250. Value of real estate, 
$1,947,663; personalty, $1,417,790. 

This county, located in the northeastern part of the 
State, eighteen miles north of Richmond, was formed 
CAROLINE in 1727 from King and Queen, Essex, and King William. 
It is about twenty-eight miles long and twenty ^iles 
wide, and contains an area of 562 square miles. 

There is a large amount of bottom lands on the numerous rivers 
and creeks which are very productive. The proportion of land under 
cultivation is about fifty per cent. The surface is rolling, the soil light, 
easily cultivated, and readily improved. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, hay, and to- 
bacco; field peas, also, are produced in great abundance, both as a fer- 
tilizer and as a forage crop. Much the most profitable industry of the 
county, however, is tobacco raising, the annual production of which is 
about one million pounds, bringing, as estimated for last year, largely 
over a quarter of a million dollars. The growing of fine manufacturing 
tobacco is a specialty, and in this respect it is not surpassed by any 
other county in the State. Other products are vegetables, butter, fruits 
and dairying, all of which are produced in abundance; and, with the 
advantages of convenient and extensive markets, such as Richmond, 
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, they constitute 
valuable and important industries. Stock raising is assuming some pro- 
portions, and the quality of stock is being very much improved. Ex- 
celsior, for packing, is extensively and profitably manufactured. Other 
industries have been established within the last couple of years — factory 
for making concrete blocks, several large lumber plants, a number of 
first-class waterpower flour mills, and an excellent telephone system 
throughout the county. 

Timber is abundant, such as oak, hickory, walnut, pine, birch, etc., 
much of which is converted into lumber. 

Its railroac!/, the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac, extends 
through the county from north to south. 

This is one of the best watered counties in the State. Climate ex- 



Hand Bool- of Virginia 



91 



cellent, and very healthful as the result of its numerous fine springs of pure, 
soft, drinking water. 

Population, census of 1910, 16,596. 

Bowling Green, the county seat, is located near the centre of the 
county, three miles from Milford, the nearby station on the Richmond, 
Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad, from which point it has daily 
communication. It is a flourishing town of 458 inhabitants, several 
churches and public schools, academy, female seminary, tobacco ware- 
house, and carriage and wagon factory. Other towns are Port Royal, 
with a population of 193, and Ruther Glen, a small place, but busy rail- 
road village. 




One of \ irgiiiia's newest and most complete canning' plants. 

This county was formed in 1842 from the eastern part 
of Grayson, and was named in honor of Charles Carroll, 
CARROLL of Carrollton. It is situated on the southern border of 
the State, 183 miles southwest from Richmond. It 
touches the North Carolina line. 
Carroll contains a population, census of 1910, of 21,116. 
It has an area of 445 square miles. Surface is broken and moun- 
tainous, with fertile and productive valleys, the largest area of desirable 
lands lying in the southern half of the county. It is bordered by the 
Alleghany and the Rocky mountains, and these mountain ranges are 
especially adapted to the pasturage of stock, large numbers of which 
are raised; cattle raising, especially, being one of the leading industries 
of the county. 

The lands readily produce wheat, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, pota- 
toes, and the grasses. Some tobacco is also grown, but the county is 
especially noted for the production of rye and buckwheat, ranking among 
the first of the counties of the State for the production of these grains. 
Fruits are grown to great perfection, especially apples and grapes. Por- 
tions of the county are noted for the growth of tbe cranberry. 

A large proportion of the county is still in timber of original growth, 
especially on the southern side, with good bodies of white pine in the 



^ , :=• 



'^ / 

>>-**<^__-: 







Hand Booh of Virginia 93 

northwestern section. The most important and valuable species are oak, 
pine, ash, cherry, walnut, poplar, and chestnut, of which a large amount 
is annually manufactured into lumber for export. Sawmills are nu- 
merous. 

This county is very rich in minerals, the principal of which are 
copper and iron, the latter being extensively mined. Mica and asbestos 
are also known to exist, but are not developed. 

Hillsville, the county seat, with a population of about 300, is sit- 
uated near the centre of the county, in the basin of the Blue Ridge 
mountains on Little Reed Island creek, a tributary of New river. It 
is about ten miles south of Betty Baker depot, which is its nearest point 
on the Little Reed Island branch of the Norfolk and Western railroad. 
It contains, besides the courthouse, churches, hotels, stores, schools, 
newspapers, bank, shops, foundry, etc. Considerable business activity 
prevails here since the completion of the railroad to that section of busy 
mining operations, an increase of fifteen to twenty per cent, in the vol- 
ume of trade being reported. 

This county constituted one of the original shires into 
which the State was divided in 163 4. It is located 
CHARLES CITY in the east central part of the State, twelve miles south- 
east of Richmond, on the peninsula formed by the 
James and the Chickahominy rivers. 

It is thirty miles long, with a mean width of about eight miles, 
and has an area of 183 square miles. The surface is mostly level, or 
gently undulating. The soil is varied — alluvium and gray loam pre- 
dominating — and is for the most part productive, especially on the rivers, 
where the quality is superior. These river lands constitute a large pro- 
portion of the area of the county, and upon them are found many fine old 
Colonial estates and residences. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, peanuts and hay, the 
yields of cereals being above the average for the State. Fruits and 
vegetables, to which the climate and soil are especially adapted, succeed 
admirably. Poultry and dairying are also profitable and growing indus- 
tries. No section of the county is better adapted to a profitable truck- 
ing business, especially on the fine river lands, with their superior market 
advantages by rail and water. Stock and grazing facilities are very 
good, with an abundance of water and native grasses, and soil well 
adapted to the pasturage of stock. 

The fish industry is a very important and profitable one in the 
county; all the streams abound in fish of the most valuable species, 
such as shad, herring, sturgeon, alewives, etc. 

Marl of superior quality, and in large quantity, is found, and only 
awaits capital and development to become an important factor in the 
business of the county. 

With only about fifty per cent, of the lands under cultivation, there 
remains an extensive area in timber. Original growth has been pretty 
generally cut off, but the second growth pine, oak, hickory, etc., rapidly 
replaces it. 

Rivers are the James and the Chickahominy, with their numerous 
tributaries, which afford considerable water power, not as yet utilized. 
The transportation advantages afforded by these streams are of great 
profit and convenience, especially the James river, upon which there are 
daily boats from Richmond, and tri-weekly from Petersburg to Norfolk. 

Railroad transportation consists of the Chesapeake and Ohio, which 
runs through the upper portion, bordering the county for eighteen or 
twenty miles. Public schools and roads are being fostered and built, 
and all public enterprises and improvements are being encouraged and 
pushed. 

The climate is much modified by the surrounding water, and is 
temperate and pleasant, and with an abundance of pure freestone water. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 95 

Health compares favorably with that of any other section. Churches 
and public schools are numerous, mail facilities good, and financial con- 
dition excellent, while the soil responds quickly to improvement, and 
retains fertility. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, 5,253. 

The county seat, Charles City Courthouse, is located near the centre 
of the county, and has a population of about one hundred. 

This county, formed in 1764, from Lunenburg county, 
is located in central southern Virginia, sixty-six miles 
CHARLOTTE southwest of Richmond. 

It contains an area of 479 square miles. The surface is 

generally rolling; soil varying from loam to clay, and 

capable of high improvement; bottom and valley lands very productive. 

Farm products are tobacco, wheat, corn, rye, oats, hay, peas, etc. 
It is especially the home of fine high-priced shipping tobacco, and is 
justly considered one of the finest tobacco growing counties in the State, 
yielding annually more than four million pounds. Vegetables and fruits 
of all kinds, such as apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, melons, 
etc., are grown in abundance. Stock raising is also an important in- 
dustry, to which the lands are well adapted. "Wild fruits and nuts are 
abundant, the latter frequently almost sufficient for the fall fattening 
of hogs. 

Timbers abound in large quantities, more than one-half of the sur- 
face is covered with forest, much of which is second growth, but there 
are still much of the native timbers, such as oak, poplar, hickory, wal- 
nut, ash, etc. The manufacture of lumber is one of the profitable in- 
dustries of the county. 

The minerals consist of iron, copper, mica, kaolin, soapstone, etc., 
the most important of which, perhaps, is iron, which has been found in 
veins eight to sixteen feet in width; but as yet the mineral wealth of 
the county is comparatively undeveloped, with the exception of copper, 
which is being mined now. 

Mineral waters are lithia, sulphur, calcium, magnesia, etc. 

Water courses are the Staunton river and other smaller streams, 
the former of which is navigable by bateaux and small steamers. Manu- 
factories are confined chiefly to flouring and sawmills. 

Railroad facilities are admirable, the Norfolk and Western on the 
north, the Lynchburg and Durham on the west, the Southern through the 
centre, a branch line from Keysville into North Carolina, and the Vir- 
ginian through the centre. 

Educational advantages are good, with a sufficient number of pub- 
lic and private schools. Financial condition of the county is very favor- 
able. The public debt is small; county four per cent, bonds sell at par. 
In progress and general development, there is evident improvement in 
this county. The climate is mild and healthful; the water pure, with 
springs abundant. Churches and mail facilities numerous and con- 
venient. 

Population, census of 1910, 15,785. 

It has the distinction of having been the home of two of Virginia's 
most distinguished sons — .John Randolph and Patrick Henry. 

Charlotte Courthouse is the county seat. 

This county was established in 1748, from that part 
of Henrico which was then on the south of James 
CHESTERFIELD river, and is a long and narrow peninsula between the 
James and the Appomattox rivers. It is twenty-eight 
miles long and eighteen miles wide, and is nearly di- 
vided into three parts, one between James river and Falling creek, the 
next between Falling and Swift creeks, and the last between Swift creek 
and Appomattox river, and extends to Richmond on the north, to Peters- 
burg on the south, with an area of 484 square miles. 



96 



Department of Agriculture 



The most valuable lands are found on James river. 

The surface and soil are varied, and mostly tillable. The river and 
creek bottoms are level, alluvial, fertile and under cultivation. The up- 
lands are rolling and less fertile, of a gray and sandy nature, and clay 
subsoil. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, peanuts and hay. 

Hay is grown in larger quantities than heretofore, especially on the 
bottom lands, and tobacco is raised to great success on the uplands. The 
farming interests of this county are rapidly undergoing a change for 
the better through the advent of northern and western settlers, who are 
turning their attention to the production of butter and milk, grapes, 
berries, small fruits and vegetables for the nearby markets of Richmond 
and Petersburg, and for the northern markets by steamers on James 
river. Chesterfield in former Virginia expositions received the first pre- 
mium for county agricultural products, and the second for timber, wood 
and mineral. 



.vi.'. 



*^C^ «* 











rr 



Winter Beardless Barley Is a good crop and is coming into favor. 

Trucking is an important branch of industry. 

Principal minerals are coal, ochre, fire-brick clay, Venetian red, 
marl, and granite. This county is celebrated for its inexhaustible mines 
of coal, which have been worked for a long period, and constitute its 
chief source of wealth; the most important of which are Midlothian, 
Clover Hill, Black Heath, and Winterpock. The last-named is now in 
full operation. The coal fields run entirely across the county, with an 
average width of six to eight miles, and geologists have expressed the 
opinion that the supply of coal is practically inexhaustible. There are 
thought to be thousands of acres of undeveloped coal lands still in the 
county. 

Timber is abundant, embracing about fifty per cent, of the area of 
the county, large quantities of which are annually manufactured into 
lumber and exported; for which there are most excellent facilities by 



Hand Booh of Virginia 97 



rail and river. The interior of the cfounty abounds in forests of original 
and second growth timber, such as pine, oak, poplar, cedar, hickory, 
ash, chestnut, beech, walnut, willow, mulberry, gum, holly, and persim- 
mon; and along Appomattox river extending to City Point are also large 
forests of more valuable timber. 

The county is well watered, irrigated and drained by the James 
and Appomattox rivers and numerous small streams, which flow through 
the county. Game and fish of all kinds are abundant. 

Railroads are the Southern railway, the Seaboard Air Line, the Atlantic 
Coast Line, the Tidewater and Western, and the Norfolk and Western, 
traversing every portion of the county, north, south, east and west. 

The county roads are fairly good. Two turnpikes penetrate the 
county, the Buckingham turnpike and the Richmond and Petersburg 
turnpike. 

There are many places of interest and importance in the county, to 
which allusion should be made. One of the ancient landmarks is Salis- 
bury, the former residence of Patrick Henry; another, Matoaca, the scene 
of John Randolph's early years; and still another, Warwick, which prior 
to the Revolution was larger than Richmond, and one of the principal 
shipping points on James river. 

Bon Air and Dry Bridge Depot, on the Southern Railway, are the 
homes in summer of a large number of Richmond's best citizens. There 
are few places at which there are more of the beauties of nature than at 
Forest Hill Park. 

The public school system is in a flourishing condition, having over 
eighty public schools, and no section of the county is destitute in this 
respect. There are also a number of high-grade schools. The male 
academies at Bon Air and Chester are in a flourishing condition, and the 
same may be said of the female institutes at Chester and Skinquarter. 
The Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, founded in 18 82, for the 
higher education of the colored youth of the State, is also situated in 
Chesterfield, near Petersburg, and is doing a good work. It receives 
a liberal annual appropriation from the State. 

Churches and postoffices are numerous and conveniently distributed. 
The climate of Chesterfield is salubrious and healthful; the character 
and morals of the people of a high order. Chesterfield Courthouse is 
the county seat. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, 21,299. 

This county was formed in 1836 from Frederick, and 
named in honor of General Rogers Clarke, who distin- 

CLARKE guished himself in the Indian and the Revolutionary 
wars. It lies in the centre of the Shendoah valley, in 
almost the extreme northern part of the State, 106 miles 
northwest of Richmond, and bordering on the Maryland line. 

The surface of the central portion of the county, and west of the 
Shenandoah river, is undulating, the soil limestone, and unsurpassed 
for fertility and productiveness. The land east of the Sheanandoah river 
is mountainous, and valuable for its abundance of timbers, such as pine, 
oak, chestnut, hickory, poplar, cedar, and locust, large quantities of 
which are annually converted into timber for export. Portions of this 
mountain section produce excellent blue grass when cleared, affording 
fine pasturage for sheep and cattle. 

It may truly be said that, in proportion to its size, this is one of the 
richest counties in the State, the county is rather below the average in size, 
being about seventeen miles long and ten miles wide, with an area of 18 9 
miles. Farms are well improved with buildings and fencing, and are in a 
thorough state of cultivation. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, hay, etc. Special 
attention is given to the wheat crop, the lands being among the finest 



98 Department of Agriculture 



in tlie State for the production of this grain. All fruits of this latitude 
are grown to great perfection, and large quantities of apples and peaches 
are annually shipped to the nearhy markets. 

This being a native blue grass section, the raising of cattle is very 
extensively engaged in, the cities of Washington, Baltimore and New- 
York affording convenient markets for their sale. 

Limestone, for building purposes, exists in large quantities. 

The Shenandoah river winds its course along the base of the Blue 
Ridge, and, with its several tributaries — Chapel, Opequon and Birch 
creeks — plentifully waters the county. 

The Shenandoah Valley branch of the Norfolk and Western rail- 
road, extending from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Roanoke, Virginia, passes 
through the central part of the county from north to south. The Valley 
branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad extends through the north- 
west part, thus bringing the county into communication with all the 
different sections of the country. 

Everything conspires to make this a very highly favored section of 
the State, with its intelligent enterprising population, its healthful cli- 
mate, fine water, numerous public schools, and churches of the various 
denominations. 

Total population of county, census of 1910, 7,468. 

Berryville, the county seat, is a thriving, growing town of 1,000 
inhabitants. It is located on the Shenandoah Valley railroad, a little 
north of the centre of the county. 

This county was formed in 1850 from Botetourt, Roa- 
noke, Giles and Monroe, and borders on the State of 

CRAIG West Virginia, from which it is separated by the Al- 

leghany mountains. It is located in Southwest Vir- 
ginia, 145 miles west of Richmond. Though the small- 
est of the southwestern counties, it is by no means the least important, 
containing an area of 3 51 square miles. Lands are fertile and well- 
kept, varying from light sandy to clay, of limestone formation, and pe- 
culiarly adapted to the growth of rich grasses. Accordingly we find 
here a pastoral people, who have, for a number of years, made the rais- 
ing of live stock the principal industry of the county, annually shipping 
to the eastern markets a large number of fine horses, cattle and sheep, 
many of the cattle being high-grade short-horns. The surface of the 
county is to a considerable extent rugged and mountainous, but there 
are some very fertile valleys that challenge comparison with the best 
sections of the State, notably Sinking Creek valley, which is twentv 
miles long and about four miles wide, of limestone formation, covered 
with a rich blue grass sward, and is one of the finest stock-raising sec- 
tions of the State, shipping its cattle for the export market direct from 
grass. The staple agricultural products, such as wheat, corn, oats, etc., 
are also successfully grown, and considerable attention is paid to the 
raising of poultry, especially turkeys, of which large numbers are an- 
nually shipped from the county. All the fruits and vegetables common 
to this latitude are grown with the best results. 

Minerals consist mainly of iron, manganese and slate. Indications 
of silver have been found, and fine pottery and brick clays are abundant. 
The Manganese Iron and Coal Company own 20,000 acres of land lying 
in Craig and Montgomery counties, extending from Craig City along the 
slope of Craig mountain for a distance of twenty-five miles, along the 
Johns Creek mountain a distance of about seventeen miles. It thus 
embraces the ontcroppings of all these great ore-bearins: formations for 
a distance of about forty miles. The various ores yield from forty to 
sixty per cent, of metallic iron, the average being fully fifty per cent, 
lower in phosphorus and containing no iniurious substances. The sup- 
ply of manganese is inexhaustible and of excellent quality. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



99 



The timber of this section is noted for its fine quality, large portions 
of the county being covered with original forests of oak, hickory, ash, 
poplar, pine, maple, walnut, sycamore, wild cherry, beech, etc. Numer- 
ous sawmills are in operation. 

Its railroads are the Craig Valley branch of the Chesapeake and 
Ohio, enteiing New Castle, and a branch of the Norfolk and Western 
from Big Stony, tapping the iron ore and timber of Pitts Valley at Paint 
Bank. 




This high grade Virginia sliorthorn yearling is as pretty as a flower, 
and Ti'hen properly fed and grazed would top any market. 



Total population, census of 1910, 4,711. 

The inhabitants are prosperous, thrifty and law-abiding. Educa- 
tional advantages are much improved, receiving more than ordinary at- 
tention. Several religious denominations are represented, and churches 
numerous and convenient. 

New Castle is the county seat, and most important town in the 
county. 

This county was formed in 1748 from Orange, and 
named in honor of Lord Culpeper, Governor of the Col- 
CULPEPER ony for three years, from 1680. It is separated from 
Fauquier by the Rappahannock river, and is one of the 
northern counties of the Piedmont region, though not 
wholly of that region, the lower portion running down into Middle Vir- 
ginia; hence its surface is less rugged than that of some of the other 
Piedmont counties, and by the United States reports it is in point of 
health second only to Asheville, in the whole country. It is 102 miles 
northwest of Richmond. Altitude 403 feet. 

Surface generally rolling, but several detached mountains or spurs, 
in portions of the county, give it a very picturesque and attractive ap- 
pearance. Soil is red clay, chocolate, and sometimes sandy, producing 
fine crops of wheat, rye, corn, oats and hay. Culpeper raises annually 
about 500,000 bushels of Indian corn, and has the reputation of pro- 
ducing the largest quantity of broom corn of any county in the State. 
It has also one of the best and most general telephone systems in the 



100 



Department of Agriculture 



State. Fruits of all kinds, especially apples, succeed well along the 
mountain slopes. Much attention is paid to stock raising, and the 
breeds of cattle, horses and hogs have been greatly improved since the 
war by the introduction of much thoroughbred stock, which has gained 
for the county an enviable reputation for the superior quality of her 
live stock. 

The farm lands of this section have attracted considerable atten- 
tion during the past few years, and many farmers from the north have 
moved to this locality, the increase of population showing an advance 
movement in this respect. 

Population, census of 1910, 13,472; area, 399 square miles. 

About one-third of the county is in original timber, oak and pine, 
oak predominating. 




This Virginia farmer makes Ms pork for less than 4 cents per pound. 

The minerals of this county are gold (heavy quartz), copper, iron,. 
mica, marble and fire clay, but they have, been but slightly developed. 
The gold mines have been favorably reported on by distinguished min- 
eralogists and mineral experts, and some have been developed and worked. 

The water courses of the county are the Rappahannock, Rapidan, 
and Hazel rivers and their tributaries, which afford, abundant water for 
agricultural purposes and fine water power. 

The Southern railroad traverses the county from northeast to south- 
west, furnishing most excellent transportation facilities. There is also 
a good turnpike extending frora the county seat to Sperryville, Rappa- 
hannock county. The character of the public roads, is fair, with a dis- 
position to improvement, some ten, or fifteen miles of macadam having 
been recently built. 

Public schools and churches are numerous and convenient. Cul- 
peper, the county seat, is located near the. centre of the county, on the 
Virginia Midland division of the Southern Railway, and had a population, 
census of 1900, of 1,618, now 2.000. 



Hand BooJc of Virginia 101 

This county, formed from Goochland in 1748, lies on 
the south side of James river and extends to Appomat- 
CUMBERLAND tox river. It is thirty-eight miles west of Richmond. Di- 
mensions, thirty miles long, and about ten miles wide. 
Area, 297 square miles. Price of land is very reasonable, 
but it can be made to pay well. Lands lie well for farming, and yield well, 
especially those on the rivers, which are very fertile. Surface, to a con- 
siderable extent, level, the balance is undulating. Soil, gray loam, with 
red clay subsoil, capable of being made very productive. 

Farm products are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, cot- 
ton, and sorghum; clover also grows well, but the most important and 
profitable industry is tobacco growing. Fruits and vegetables of the 
usual varieties are successfully produced, such as apples, pears, peaches, 
apricots, plums, tomatoes, sweet and Irish potatoes, cabbage, etc. 

Grazing facilities are fairly good, but probably the most profitable 
industry in that line is sheep husbandry, which is being very successfully 
followed. There is still much of the original growth of timber in the 
county, such as oak of various kinds, hickory, walnut, pine, poplar, ash, 
etc. 

Minerals are found to some extent, the principal of which is coal. 
Fine mineral springs have recently been discovered, from which, within 
a few feet of each other, flow lithia, sulphur, chalybeate, and magnesia 
water. The James, Appomattox and Willis rivers afford abundant water 
power and fish in many varieties. 

Railroads are the Chesapeake and Ohio on the northern, and Nor- 
folk and Western on the southern borders, with the Tidewater and West- 
ern running through the county, a distance of thirty miles from 
Powhatan county line on the northeast, to Farmville on the southeast. 
Total population of county, census of 1910, 9,195. 
Cumberland, the county seat, located about the centre of the county, 
on the Tidewater and Western railroad, has shown considerable improve- 
ment, viz: the establishment of tobacco warehouses and stemmeries, all 
of which have been enlarged and others built. 

This county was formed in the year 18 80 from the coun- 
ties of Wise, Buchanan and Russell, and named in honor 
DICKENSON of William J. Dickenson. It is situated in the extreme 
western section of the State. Its altitude is 1,800 feet. 
The climate is healthful and invigorating, the average 
temperature being 52.4 degrees F., rainfall, 60.1. The soil varies in 
texture, but is principally sandy. 

The county contains an area of 324 square miles, 313,597 acres. It 
has 700 farms averaging in size 225 acres each. 

This is one of the best counties in the State for investors, as the 
prices of lands are comparatively low, and the resources of the county 
as yet undeveloped. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, rye, oats, millet, tobacco, potatoes, 
sorghum, and buckwheat; also vegetables and fruits are grown to a con- 
siderable extent. Stock and grazing facilities are fairly good, the wild 
range excellent in some sections. Being in the great grazing' region of 
the southwest, a considerable portion of the county has, naturally, good 
grass lands. Timbers, of most valuable kind and superior quality, are 
found here in great abundance. A very large portion of the county, 
probably half of its area, is in original forest of oak, hickory, poplar, 
walnut, elm, ash, maple, wild cherry, cucumber, pine, and hemlock. 
There are numerous saw mills in the county, and much lumber is cut 
and hauled to various points on the Norfolk and Western railroad, and 
considerable logging done, the logs being floated down the waters of the 
Big Sandy river to Cincinnati and other points. There is an abundance 
of coal and iron, besides many mineral springs of great medicinal value. 
The wealth of the county in fine bituminous, splint and cannel coals is 



103 



Department of Agriculture 



unsurpassed by tlie same area anywhere, but is as yet comparatively un- 
worked. The streams of the county are Pound, Cranes Nest, and Russell 
Fork rivers, and McClure's creek, which flows north, through breaks of 
the Cumberland mountains, into the Ohio. These streams afford splen- 
did water power, but it has not been utilized. In many places on these 
streams the scenery is very imposing, especially that on Russell Fork 
river, the deep canyon at the breaks of the Cumberland mountains, in 
the northern end of the county. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,199, 

Clintwood, the county seat, is located in the western part of the 
county. 

This county was formed from Prince George in 1752, 
and named in honor of Robert Dinwiddle, Lieutenant 
DINWIDDTE Governor of Virginia from 1752 to 1758. 

It is situated at the head of tidewater, between the Ap- 
pomattox and Nottoway rivers, twenty-two miles south 
of Richmond, and has an area of 521 square miles, one-third of which 
is cultivated. Its farms average 160 acres each. 

The surface is, in some parts, undulating, but mostly level. The 
soil, light gray in the southern and eastern parts, red stiff clay loam in 
other portions is very fertile, especially on the river courses and in 
the vicinity of Petersburg. 

The principal farm products are tobacco, cotton and peanuts. The 
grains, rye, oats, wheat, and corn, are grown to some extent, especially the 







'.* ?iAf' 



The fanner who sows crimson clover seed plentifully each 
year can "ride the machine." 

latter. Clover and other grasses do well, and yield good crops of hay 
when seeded on the creek and river bottoms, or on improved lands. 
Potatoes likewise, both sweet and Irish, melons, berries, and vegetables 
of all kinds, grow in abundance, and render trucking an exceedingly 
profitable industry to the farmers, especially in the eastern portion of 
the county and in the vicinity of Petersburg, where market and shipping 
facilities are so extensive and convenient. 

Transportation facilities are excellent, and are furnished by the 
Seaboard Air Line, the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Norfolk and Western 
railways; also water navigation by the Appomattox river above and be- 
low the city of Petersburg, extending to James river and to the sea. 

Mineral products are iron ore, marl, and granite in abundance and 
of the finest quality. The timbers are pine, oak, poplar, walnut, hickory. 



Kand Booh of Virginia 103 



ash, gum, and maple, the greater portion of which is second growth. 
The climate is mild and healthful and the water plentiful and good. 

All sections of the county are well supplied with churches of the 
various denominations. The public schools are in a flourishing condition, 
with comfortable school buildings and competent teachers. 

The Central State Hospital, for colored patients exclusively, is lo- 
cated in this county near Petersburg. It was founded in Richmond in 
1870, but subsequently, in 1885, was removed to its present location. It 
is one of the largest hospitals for colored insane in the United States. 

Mail facilities are ample, and the financial condition of the county 
very favorable. _ 

Dinwiddle, the county seat, is located near the centre of the county, 
twelve miles southwest from Petersburg, on the Seaboard Air Line rail- 
way. It has several churches, a public school, and a fraternal order. 

Population, independent of Petersburg, census of 1910, 15,442. 

This county was one of the original shires into 
which Virginia was divided in 1634, and Queen 
ELIZABETH CITY Elizabeth is the derivation of the name. It is sit- 
uated at the southeastern extremity of Virginia's 
great peninsular, on Chesapeake bay, and at the 
mouth of James river, bordering upon the historic Hampton Roads, sixty- 
five miles southeast from Richmond. 

Its form is nearly a square of seven miles on a side. With the ex- 
ception of Alexandria, it is the smallest county in the State, having an 
area of fifty square miles, one-half of which is in cultivation. The sur- 
face is level, and the soil varies from light and sandy to rich alluvial, 
much of it being highly fertile. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, hay and potatoes. Vegetables 
and fruits do well, especially the small fruits, berries, etc. Farming 
land has advanced fifty per cent. Poultry raising receives a great deal 
of attention and finds a very remunerative home market. Trucking is 
a very important industry in the county; but perhaps the most profitable 
industry of the county is its fish, crab and oyster business. These abound 
in inexhaustible quantities, and of the finest quality, in the surrounding 
waters, and give profitable employment to a large number of the in- 
habitants. Wild fowl — geese, ducks, swans, etc.- — are also found in large 
numbers on the streams. There is very little stock (other than that 
for dairy purposes) raised in the county. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad and different lines of electric 
railways afford ample facilities of travel and transportation, and the 
county, being almost surrounded by navigable waters, is in daily commu- 
nication, by steamers, with Richmond, Norfolk, Washington, Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, New York and Boston, affording excellent market advant- 
ages for its products. 

The interior water supply and drainage are furnished by Back river 
and Hampton river. Manufactories consist of saw mills, iron foundry, 
and shoe, sash and blind, and oil factories. 

The climate is temperate, delightful and remarkably healthful. 
Churches of the various Protestant denominations and most excellent 
public schools are well distributed over the county. Telephone and free 
delivery mail facilities are ample, public roads good, and the financial 
condition of the county excellent. 

Population, census of 1910, 21,205. 

Hampton's transportation facilities are exceptionally good, having 
connection with two steamship lines to W^ashington, three to Baltimore, 
one to New York direct, and one by way of Cape Charles and rail, besides 
one to Boston. The city is also in ferry connection with Norfolk, con- 
necting with all lines South, while it is located on the Chesapeake and 
Ohio railway, connecting with the West. 



104 Department of Agriculture 



Statistics compiled by a prominent pliysician indicate climatic condi- 
tions in the county as the very best to be found anywhere. The water 
supply is abundant. The public school system embraces high school, nor- 
mal and agricultural schools, and well supervised graded schools. The 
streets of the city are paved with granolithic sidewalks. It has an ex- 
cellent municipal government, replete in all of its departments. 

Located here is the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, for 
the education and training of negroes and Indians, with a capacity of 
about nine hundred students, and an efficient corps of teachers and pro- 
fessors. It was opened in 1868, and incorporated in 1870, being the 
first permanent school for freedom in the South. It is aided by both 
the State and National governments, but is dependent upon voluntary 
donations for the greater part of its support. 

Other institutions of learning, located here, are the Hampton Female 
College, the Hampton High School, the Virginia School for Colored Deaf 
and Blind Children, and the Syms-Eaton free school, all in successful 
operation; also, numbers of other handsome buildings, notably the Bank 
of Hampton building, constructed at a cost of about $100,000. 

Truck farming in the immediate vicinity is an important factor to 
that section. 

Hampton is one of America's most conspicuous cities from an his- 
torical point of view — conspicuous as being next to the oldest city in the 
United States, and as having a frontage on the greatest harbor known 
to the world, in which occurred (near by) the great battle between the 
Monitor and the Merrimac. 

Other points of great interest in the county are Old Point Comfort, 
Fortress Monroe, and the National Soldiers' Home. 

The, former is situated at the junction of Chesapeake bay with Hamp- 
ton roads and three miles from the town of Hampton, with which it 
has electric railway connection. It got its name from Captain Chris- 
topher Newport, who found it a safe haven during a severe storm — the 
"Old" being added to distinguish it from New Point Comfort, a few miles 
away. It is oiie of the most fashionable and popular resorts on the At- 
lantic coast, and is, especially attractive for its fine bathing, boating and 
fishing. 

Near by is Fortress Monroe, commanding the approach to Hampton 
Roads, and at which is stationed the United States school of artillery. 
This is now the largest artillery garrison in this country. 

The National Soldiers' Home for disabled volunteer soldiers, is 
lo.cated near Hampton. It has beautiful grounds and buildings, and ex- 
pends annually one and a half million dollars, much of which benefits 
the county. 

This county was formed from (old) Rappahannock in 

1692, the records of the original county remaining in 

ESSEX its archives. It is a northeastern county, thirty-five miles 

. below Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock river. 

About twenty miles of its lower river front is in the fa- 

.moiis oyster section, which produces as fine oysters as any section of the 

State. 

This county was once the seat of great wealth, and by well directed 
enterprise and energy could be still readily restored to its former af- 
fiuence and importance. 

Dimensions of county are as follows: About thirty-five miles long 
and six miles wide; area, 277 square miles. 

The lands are fertile and easily cultivated, and, being smooth, with 

no stone, all improved agricultural machinery can be used to advantage. 

Physical aspects of the county are the same as in the Tidewater 

country generally, the surface principally level, or slightly rolling. Soil 

is sandy loam, with clay subsoil. The river lands are very good, and 




-a 
a 
o 

-a 
a 

:3 



Sand Boole of Virginia 



105 



when properly drained are very productive and valuable. On tlie Dragon 
Swamp lands, which separate Essex from King and Queen, are fine wheat 
lands, with a heavy, tenacious soil of great fertility. The lands of the 
county respond readily to any effort at improvement, and there is no 
part of the State where farming can be engaged in with better prospects 
of success. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, oats and hay. Trucking also forms 
a very important item of agriculture in this county. The extra early 
English pea grows to great perfection. Several thousand acres in the 
eastern part of the county are annually cultivated in these peas. Pota- 
toes also, and other vegetables, with dairy products, are sources of much 




Com is one of Virginia's "stand-by" crops. 



revenue. This county is well adapted to the growth of fruit, such as 
peaches, apples, pears, and the smaller fruits. There are some very fine 
peach orchards in the county — numbering as many as 10,000 or 12,000 
trees each — the products of which are shipped in large quantities, bring- 
ing the highest prices in the northern markets, or disposed of to the 
several canneries in the county. Clover and other grasses grow readily, 
and interest in these products has greatly increased, indicating an im- 
proved condition in farming. 

Growing and fattening live stock for market (especially cattle) is 
very profitable. Owing to the mild winters they are fed with much less 
expense than in the colder sections of the State, and numbers of the 
native-grown cattle, weighing 1,500 pounds for three-year olds, are sold 
every year for export, but perhaps the greater portion of the cattle of 
the county is shipped to Baltimore market. 

The Rappahannock river is well supplied with fish and oysters. The 



106 Department of Agriculture 

shad and herring fisheries, especially, are very valuable, employing many 
men and vessels. 

About fifty per cent, of the county is under cultivation, and the 
balance embraces considerable quantities of timber in oak, pine, elm, 
ash, poplar and chestnut. Some few lumber mills are in operation. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 9,105. 

Tappahannock, the county seat, is a port of entry for the district. 
It is located on the Rappahannock river, in the northeast part of the 
county reasonable. The surface of the county is generally rolling and 
large sumac mill, canning factory, foundry and machine shops. Its water 
supply is from artesian wells, and the town is laid off on the same plan 
and same day as Philadelphia. Other towns of the county are Loretta 
and Dunnsville. 

This county was formed from Prince William in 1742, 
and named in honor of Lord Fairfax. It lies on the 
FAIRFAX west bank of the Potomac river. The eastern portion 
of the county is in the immediate vicinity of the cities 
of Washington, Georgetown and Alexandria. It is sit- 
uated in the northeastern portion of the State, seventy-eight miles north 
of Richmond, and contains an area of 433 square miles; generally in a 
high state of cultivation, with nice, commodious buildings. The alti- 
tude is 382 feet. 

Lands near Washington city are high, but in the interior of the 
county, reasonable. The surface of the county is generally rolling and 
smooth, nine-tenths of which is arable. A variety of soils exist; in some sec- 
tions sandy, but generally red clay. The lands throughout the county are 
generally good; in some parts very fertile and capable of a high state of 
cultivation. 

Farm products, already very large, are rapidly increasing, and con- 
sist principally of corn, wheat, oats, rye, hay, fruits, dairy, and vege- 
tables. The cultivation of wheat has increased immensely. Fruit cul- 
ture is an important industry in the county, and is being rapidly devel- 
oped. Apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, quinces and grapes are 
grown in great abundance, and of the latter there are vineyards of over 
100 acres. Fairfax has formerly stood at the head of the list of coun- 
ties in the value of orchard products. 

The dairy business is conducted on an extensive scale, and has enor- 
mously increased within recent years, until the daily shipments of milk 
and cream to Washington and Georgetown amount to over 4,000 gal- 
lons. There are also several butter and cheese factories in the county. 
Poultry raising and market gardening are largely engaged in, and are 
sources of much revenue. Its proximity to Washington, Georgetown 
and Alexandria insures a convenient and ready market for all products 
of the farm, dairy ad garden. 

The fish industry in the Potomac and small streams gives employ- 
ment and remuneration to quite a large number of people. The raising 
of cattle, sheep and hogs is carried on to a considerable extent, and is 
quite profitable. 

Educational advantages consist of the public free schools, the Epis- 
copal High School, the Theological Seminary, and convenient access to 
the schools of Washington and those of Alexandria. Churches and mail 
facilities are numerous and convenient. Financial condition of the 
county is very favorable, and telephone service is very good, having 
direct communication with Washington and Alexandria. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 20,536. 

Fairfax, the county seat, is located in the centre of the county, mid- 
way between the main line and the Washington and Bluemont branch 
of the Southern railway, and about six miles from each. It is also the 
terminus of the W., A. & F. C. electric railroad. It is a thriving inland 
village of 500 inhabitants, with streets well graded and paved, several 



Band Booh of Virginia lO'J' 

public and private schools, churches, Masonic lodges, carriage and wagon 
factory, newspaper (the Fairfax Herald), etc. 

Mount Vernon, the beautiful home and burial place of Washington, 
is situated in this county on the banks of the Potomac, eight miles be- 
low Alexandria and fifteen miles from Washington city, from which 
latter place steamers visit Mount Vernon daily. There is also an elec- 
tric railway connecting it with Alexandria and Washington. The grounds 
are in charge of the Mount Vernon Association, and are visited by thou- 
sands of persons from all parts of the world. 

This county was formed in 1759 from Prince William, 
and named in honor of Francis Fauquier, who was Gover- 
FAUQUIER nor from 1758 to 1767. 

This is a northern county, sixty-three miles, air line, 
north of Richmond. It lies at the upper waters of the 
Rappahannock river, which separates it from Culpeper and Rappahan- 
nock on the west, and at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains on the 
northwest, which separates it from Warren. 

Besides the Blue Ridge, there are several other mountain ranges in 
the county, the principal of which are the Carter's and Bull Run, which 
form a chain through its central part north and south. 

The length is forty-five miles, mean breadth sixteen miles, area 676 
square miles. The surface is gently rolling, and in some portions quite 
hilly, but with considerable level land. About eighty per cent, of the 
county is under cultivation, and, having been judiciously managed, is 
generally in a high state of improvement. The soil in most part is very 
fertile, especially the noted greenstone lands, which constitute the rich- 
est part of this productive county. 

Farm products are wheat, corn (in the production of which it is 
second in the State), oats, hay, peas, beans, potatoes, and vegetables of 
all kinds. The productions of the county furnish a large surplus for the 
markets. The usual fruits adapted to this latitude, such as apples, 
peaches, pears, cherries, and the smaller fruits, succeed admirably, and 
are being largely grown; also, the grape is being successfully cultivated, 
especially on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge mountains. The most 
important products of the county are the cereals and grasses, but stock 
raising ranks as the chief industry. 

This is essentially a pastoral county, being so thoroughly watered, 
and the soil so well adapted to the growth of all the grasses, especially 
the nutritious blue grass, which grows spontaneously, and is so valuable 
in the production of fine cattle, for which this county is so noted in the 
markets of Washington, Baltimore and the cities farther north, as well 
as in the export markets of Europe. 

This county is very favorably situated as to markets, with its splen- 
did railroad service, north and south, affording quick, easy and cheap 
transportation to the nearby cities of Alexandria, Washington and Balti- 
more. Its railroads are the Manassas and Warrehton branches of the 
Southern railway. 

The mineral formations of this county are various, embracing gold, 
iron, copper, asbestos, marble, slate, sandstone, and granite, several of 
which are mined and quarried. Timber is good, consisting principally 
of oak, hickory, chestnut and poplar. There is an unusually large num- 
ber of saw mills in operation in this county, also spoke mills, and other 
small factories. 

Fauquier is abundantly watered by the Rappahannock and Occoquan 
rivers, and other small streams, which also afford splendid water power 
for all kinds of manufacturing purposes. 

The climate is delightful, especially in summer, not objectionably 
severe in winter, very healthful, and free from all malarious diseases 
or fevers. Water is freestone and very abundant; never-failing springs 
and wells on almost every tract. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 109 



There are churches of all Protestant denominations throughout the 
county. Mail facilities ample, and public schools numerous and of a 
high order, also several academies of excellent standing. 

Warrenton, the chief town and county seat, 365 feet above the sea 
level. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 22,546. 

Fauquier ranks high as regards quality of soil, beauty of scenery, 
healthfulness and general prosperity, having among its farmers some 
of the most successful and prosperous in the State, 

This county is one of the three — Floyd, Carroll and 
Grayson — that form the garden plateau of Southwest 

*1iOYD Virginia, and was taken from Montgomery county in 

1831 while the Hon. John Floyd was Governor of Vir- 
ginia, hence its name, and lies between the Alleghany 
and Blue Ridge mountains 225 miles southwest from Richmond and is 
near the southern boundary line of the State. Only a small portion of 
Patrick county separates it from North Carolina. 

The surface is rolling, and in some parts mountainous. The soil is 
very productive and well adapted to grass. The climate is diversified and 
remarkably fine, with uniform seasons, especially fine during the sum- 
mer months, and when rendered more accessible to the outside world 
by means of a railroad she will become a noted summer resort — with- 
out one, she remains the home of a sturdy race of mountaineers, whose 
farms, being inaccessible to markets, are only producing a tithe of what 
they might. 

Land has increased in value more than 100 per cent, in the last five 
years, and stock raising is the largest source of revenue. Thousands of 
fine cattle are shipped each year. Raising of fine horses and sheep is 
also a notable industry among the farmers of the plateau. 

The mineral wealth of the county is of great value. Nearly every 
part of the surface indicates the presence of ores, such as gold, silver, 
iron, copper, lead, graphite, asbestos, soapstone, nickel and arsenic. Cop- 
per, iron, nickel, gold and arsenic ha,ve' been successfully worked. Floyd 
has the marked distinction of. having vithin her boundaries the only 
arsenic mine in North America, and is noW making large shipments of 
this product to various parts of the world. The 'New York and Vir- 
ginia Copper Company, a corporation composed of New York capitalists, 
have their valuable plant in this county about seven miles southwest 
of the county seat, and have been operating for several years. This cor- 
poration has a capital of $2,500,000.00,. The mines are very rich in 
copper and iron, with, showing of gold and arsenic. 

Many sections of the county are still covered with a fine virgin 
forest, embracing about one-half of the area of the county. The more 
valuable species are walnut, poplar, oak, hickory, ash, pine, maple, and 
chestnut. These timbers are being rapidly converted into l.umber by 
the numerous saw mills in operation in the county. 

Other advantages and attractions, briefly enumerated, are good mail 
facilities, excellent freestone water, churches, public schools, high school; 
financial conditions excellent, with not a dollar of indebtedness, with the 
people industrious, frugal and enterprising. 

Floyd, the county seat, is situated near the centre of the county. 

Population, census 1910, 14,092. 

This county was organized in 1777. 'It lies on the north 
bank of James river near the centre of the State, fifty- 
FLUVANNA seven miles northwest of Richmond. 

This county is nearly sqiiare and contains 289 square 
miles. Average size farms, 250 acres. Bottom lands on 
the water courses are the most valuable. Surface generally rolling, self- 
draining and easy to cuTtivate, with' all softs 'of ' every variety and ca- 
pacity of productiveness, from the richest alluvial bottoms, often skirted 



Hand Book of Virginia 111 



by heavy productive clay soils, to the less productive ridges between the 
rivers. In the eastern part of the county the lands are, in the main, of 
a gray granite soil, while in the western portion is a heavier, closer, in 
the main red clay soil mixed with quartz rock, both of which readily re- 
spond to generous treatment. The flat lands along the James, Rivanna 
and Hardware rivers, and the many creeks which traverse the county, 
are very fertile and productive, yielding large crops of wheat, corn and 
hay; and perhaps the finest grain belt known to this country includes the 
lower part of this county. 

The products of the county are wheat, corn, oats, rye, grass, fruit 
and tobacco, the latter of which is the most important and profitable. 
The soil and climate seem to be especially adapted to the growth of to- 
bacco, large quantities — over a million pounds — being produced annually, 
embracing not only the famous suncured, but the finest grade of ship- 
ping and mahogany wrappers. For fruits, large and small, and vege- 
tables of all kinds the soil and climate are well adapted. Grasses of 
various kinds do well. Herds grass — red top — is in some localities indi- 
geneous, and red clover, timothy and orchard grass grow luxuriously on 
good soil, or when properly treated with manures, ashes or commercial 
fertilizers. 

Its rolling and well-drained lands, pure water and mild climate make 
it peculiarly fitted for sheep; also, fine herds of cattle are to be found 
in different sections of the county. 

The James River Division of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad 
passes along the entire southern border of the county and gives easy and 
quick communication with the cities east and west, and the Virginia Air 
Line, passing through the centre of the county, gives additional com- 
munication with the cities east and west, and also quick communication 
with Washington and the cities north. 

The county is believed to be rich in various minerals^ — gold, silver, 
copper, talc, soapstone, iron, building stone, slate, etc. They are, in the 
main, undeveloped. Indications are so favorable as, in the opinion of 
skilled mineralogists, to promise rich results. Dr. Watson, the State 
geologist, has recently made a special and favorable report on the slate 
and building stones of this county. Tellurium, the oldest gold mine in 
Virginia, is situated in this county. 

There is also much valuable timber, such as oak, poplar, pine, 
hickory, etc. 

Palmyra, the county seat, is a small but growing village, located in 
the centre of the county on the Rivanna river, and on the Virginia Air 
Line railroad. It contains wheat and corn mills, a normal high school, 
newspaper, churches, stores, etc. 

Fork Union, situated on the south side of the county, near the 
Virginia Air Line railroad, has a flourishing military academy, and is 
quite a tobacco centre. 

This county was formed from Henry and Bedford in 
1784, and lies at the eastern base of the Blue Ridge 
FRANKLIN mountains, in the southern part of the State, 140 miles 
southeast of Richmond. 

It is thirty miles long and about twenty miles wide, con- 
taining an area of 690 square miles. Farms average in size 150 acres. 

The surface is rolling, and in some parts mountainous. The soil, 
chiefly a red clay, is very fertile. This is one of the most productive of 
the Piedmont counties, producing large crops of wheat, corn, rye, oats, 
hay and tobacco, especially the latter; nearlv all the landholders being 
tobacco planters to a considerable extent. The region is unexcelled for 
growing all the fruits for which this Piedmont section is noted, such as 
apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, grapes, etc. First 
prizes were awarded at the Buffalo, St. Louis ^n^ Jamestown Expositions 
fon the Pippin ^ajpples grown iji Frianklin 



112 Department of Agriculture 

Dairy products and poultry also pay well, market advantages be- 
ing very good. Grazing facilities are not fully developed, but are very 
good, and considerable attention is paid to raising stock for the markets, 
and also horses. Milch cows and other cattle are shipped in large 
numbers. 

Railroads are the Franklin and Pittsylvania and the Norfolk and 
Western, which crosses the county from north to south, furnishing ample 
facilities for transportation. 

Minerals of this county are iron, asbestos, mica, granite and soap- 
stone, the principal of which is iron, which is found in inexhaustible 
quantities, and is the only one that has been successfully worked. 

Timber of the various kinds is abundant, the most valuable being 
oak, poplar, pine, hickory, walnut, and chestnut. Furniture factories, 
stave mills, and a large number of steam saw mills are in operation 
turning this timber to profitable account. 

Rivers are the Staunton, on the northeast border, and the Pig and 
the Blackwater, with their numerous tributaries, which afford ample 
drainage and excellent water power, as is evidenced by the flour mills, 
some saw mills, and woodworking establishments located on them. 

The climate is mild, the water unsurpassed, and the health of the 
county excellent. A large number of churches represent the different 
denominations, and mail facilities are very fine. 

Population, census of 1910, 26,480. 

The people are generous, hospitable and progressive, and the 
stranger who comes to make his home amongst them receives a hearty 
welcome. 

Rocky Mount is the county seat. Its altitude is 1,13 2 feet. 

This county was formed in 1738 from Orange. It is the 
northernmost county of the State, at the head of the 
FREDERICK Shenandoah valley, 116 miles from Richmond. It is 
twenty miles long and about eighteen miles wide, and 
has an area of 425 square miles. 

The middle part of the county is interspersed with frequent moun- 
tain ranges, with valley lands between, but the surface generally is un- 
dulating. There are belts of gray slate formation, also of limestone, 
the latter embracing one of the most productive sections of the State. 
This is one of the best counties of the famous Valley of Virginia, noted 
for its fine lands and good farming. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, rye, hay and oats, of which fine 
crops are produced. In the value of orchard products, this county stands 
very high; some sections have attained considerable notoriety for fine 
apples, especially near Winchester. 

Fruit growing, farming and stock raising constitute most profitable 
industries, the county having most excellent market advantages. This 
is one of the finest live stock counties in the State. Horses and cattle, 
in large numbers, and of superior quality, are raised and shipped to 
northern markets. 

The railroads are the Valley branch of the Baltimore and Ohio, the 
Southern, Norfolk and Western, and the Cumberland Valley, extending 
from Winchester to Pennsylvania, affording a great through route of travel 
and traffic from east to northeast to the south and southwest, as well as 
most excellent facilities for trade and travel northward. 

Minerals are iron, coal and limestone. The iron is found in North, 
mountain, in large quantity and good quality. The coal is of the an- 
thracite formation. Timbers are oak, hickory, walnut, pine, locust and 
ash, and are fairly good in quality, especially in the limestone belt. 

The public roads and turnpikes are exceptionally good. 

There are numerous fine mineral sprines in the county, the prin- 
cipal of which are the Rock Enon Springs and the Jordan White Sulphur, 
which have an extended reputation and are liberally patronized. 



Hand Boole of Virginia 113 



Climate is healthful and salubrious, and water unsurpassed, with 
its numerous clear streams and copious springs. Churches are numerous, 
and schools are of a high order, the county having been long known for 
its superior educational advantages. Telephone service and mail fa- 
cilities are excellent. The financial condition of the county is good, with 
no public debt, while in progress and general advancement there has been 
a marked improvement in the past few years. Population of county, by 
census of 1910, not including city of Winchester, 12,78 6. This is the 
county seat, a prosperous city, the second in importance in the great 
Valley of Virginia. (See cities of Virginia.) 

Frederick county is now conceded to be the largest apple-growing 
county in the State of Virginia. 

The crop in the fall of 1910 was two hundred and fifty thousand 
barrels, for which one-half million dollars was received by the fruit 
growers of the county. 

The soil is of the very best for apple growing and there is always 
a ready sale for the apples, and they are known as good keepers, and a 
great many are bought for exportation. 

This county was formed in 180 6 from Monroe and Taze- 
well, and was named in honor of the Honorable W. B. 

GILES Giles, representative in Congress from this State, 1790- 

1802, and Governor of Virginia in 1827. It lies on the 
western border of the State, about 18 5 miles southwest 
from Richmond, and has an area of 349 square miles. 

All its borders, north, south, east and west, are mountainous; the 
middle rolling, about fifty per cent, of area being under cultivation. The 
soil is limestone and clay, and generally very fertile. 

Products are corn, wheat, rye, oats, hay, etc. The crop of maple 
sugar, syrup, and sorghum is worthy of mention, especially the sorghum. 
This county is well adapted to the growth of fruit, and considerable at- 
tention is being paid to this industry, especially to the apple crop, large 
quantities of which are shipped, and add greatly to the revenues of the 
people; also grape culture is coming to be very extensive, and the cherry 
grows in great abundance, being apparently a native of this climate and 
soil. Some very fine peaches are grown, and in large quantity, when 
proper attention is given to their culture and protection from the borer. 
All these fruits and berries, besides vegetables of all kinds, which grow 
to great perfection, find a ready and remunerative market in the coal 
fields nearby. 

From the same source there is a constant demand for the dairy pro- 
ducts, butter and cheese; also poultry and eggs, large quantities of which 
are produced. 

This county is also splendidly adapted to grazing and the produc- 
tion of hay. All the grasses do well, and in some sections blue grass 
grows spontaneously. As a result of these favorable conditions, live- 
stock raising is one of the most important industries of the county. 
Large numbers of fine fat cattle and lambs are annually shipped to the 
nothern and eastern markets, and some of the former sold for the export 
trade. This is an exceedingly fine corn county, which renders the pork 
and bacon product very valuable. 

Railroads are the New River division of the Norfolk and Western 
and two lateral lines, one the Big Stony, extending up Big Stony creek a 
distance of twelve or fifteen miles; the other, the New River, Holston and 
Western. 

The minerals of the county are destined, at no distant day, to be the 
source of the greatest wealth. Iron of fine quality is found in almost 
every section of the county, with manganese, zinc, lead, barytes, and 
variegated marble have been found; limestone, especially along the river 
and railroad, in quantity and quality for building purposes or lime, 







be 



Hand Booh of Tirginia 115 



No description of this county would be complete without a refer- 
ence to its notable physical features as displayed in Its grand moun- 
tains and magnificent scenery. Toward the central part of the county 
is the lofty and beautiful Angel's Rest, about 4,000 feet above sea level 
and 2,000 feet above the river below. 

Opposite to Angel's Rest, on the northeast side of the river, is 
Butte mountain, of the same general formation and elevation. Flanking 
the latter on the south is the Salt Pond mountain, with its Bald Knob 
towering nearly 5,000 feet above the sea. Answering this mountain In 
position is the Sugar Run mountain on the opposite or southwest side. 
Toward the southern side of the county are the important iron-bearing 
parallel series composed of Spruce, John's Creek and Gap mountains on 
the northeast side of New river, and of Buckeye, Guinea and Walker's 
mountains on the southwest side of the river. Gap mountain and Walker's 
mountain answering to each other in line of continuation But the most 
noted and the grandest scenery of all is Mountain Lake and the Cascades, 
and Bald Knob, near by. Mountain Lake is a celebrated health and pleas- 
ure resort on the top of Salt Pond mountain, and truly it may be called 
the silver gem of the Alleghanies, as it is almost on the summit of the 
highest mountain of Virginia, at an elevation of more than 4,0 00 feet 
above the sea. Besides the pure mountain air and water, its chief attrac- 
tion is a lake of clear, transparent water three-quarters of a mile long 
by one-half mile wide, with a surface area of about 2 50 acres and an 
average depth of about sixty feet. Another notable point in this galaxy 
of sublime scenery is Bald Knob, three-fourths of a mile in the rear of 
Mountain Lake, and 500 feet higher; so high that scarcely anything grows 
on the lofty summit, from which landmarks of five different States are 
visible. 

In climate, health and water, this county ranks with the 
rriost favored portions of the State; churches are numerous and well at- 
tended; schools excellent, public and graded; mail facilities and tele- 
phone service reach to every section of the county; financial condition 
highly favorable. The people are moral, sober, industrious, enterprising, 
and proud of their county, which is fast becoming one of the most pro- 
gressive in the State, as evidenced by its rapidly increasing population. 

Pearisburg, the county seat, is situated in the shadow, almost, of the 
beautiful Angel's Rest, one mile from Pearisburg station on the Norfolk 
and Western railroad, and has a population, by census of 1900, of 464 — 
an increase since census of 18 90 of 123. It contains churches of different 
denominations, public and graded schools, hotels, stores, several fra- 
ternal orders, a bank, newspaper, etc. Its altitude is 1,547 feet. Area 
of county, 3 49 square miles. 

Other towns in the county are Narrows, Newport, Staffordsville, 
Eggleston, and otJier business points of some importance. The first two 
named are large business centres, vieing with the county seat in import- 
ance and population. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 11,623. 

This county was formed in 1661, from York, and named 
after Gloucestershire, in England, from which place most 
GLOUCESTER of the earliest settlers of the county came. It is located 
in the eastern part of the State, thirty-eight miles from 
Richmond. It is twenty-seven miles long and eight miles 
wide, and contains 253 square miles. 

On the water courses the lands are low and level; further back they 
are higher and gently undulating, but no portion of the county is very 
far from deep water. The proportion of cultivated land to the area is 
from one-fourth to one-third. The soil is generally a sandy loam, with 
rich alluvial lands along its many streams. 

Farm products are hay, corn, oats, rye and wheat, but tobacco and 



116 Department of Agriculture 



peanuts can be profitably grown. The soil and climate are admirably 
adapted to trucking, the principal crops of which are Irish and sweet 
potatoes, peas, cantaloupes, watermelons, etc. Fruit culture is receiving 
more attention and will prove very profitable with intelligent care. All 
the fruits are grown to some extent, but the most profitable are pears, 
grapes, and strawberries. 

Market advantages are good. Produce shipped in the evening is 
on the Baltimore market next morning; also, Norfolk and Richmond are 
good markets for this section. 

Owing to the great extent of water front, Gloucester is probably 
more largely engaged in oyster planting than any of the counties of the 
oyster section, and the quality of her oysters ranks with the best. The 
fisheries of the county are also very extensive and valuable, employing 
large capital and labor, and bringing to the citizens and the State large 
revenue. A very large proportion of the people derive a livelihood al- 
most entirely from the water, and its products may be considered the 
most important and profitable industries of the county. 

Increased attention is being given to the raising of stock and the 
cultivation of the grasses, for which the lowgrounds are well adapted, 
and they also succeed very well on the uplands^ 

Population, census of 1910, 12,477. 

Gloucester, the county seat, is located on Mobjack bay, an arm of 
the Chesapeake, and is a small country village containing carriage and har- 
ness shops, lodge of Masons and daily mail communications. 

This county has some of the finest estates in Virginia, and, in ante- 
bellum days, was noted for its wealth and refinement. It is also noted 
as having been the place of the death and burial of Nathaniel Bacon, the 
leader of the rebellion against Governor Sir William Berkley in 1676. 
It is furthermore claimed to have been in this county, on the York, that 
Pocahontas saved the life of Captain John Smith. 

This county was formed in 1727 from Henrico, and 
named in honor of one of Virginia's colonial governors. 
GOOCHLAND This is a central county, and lies along the northern 
bank of James river, a distance of about forty miles. It 
is situated thirteen miles west of Richmond. 

Thirty miles long and about ten miles wide, it has an area of 296 
square miles. Its surface is undulating. Its soil is a gray or chocolate 
loam, with stiff red clay subsoil, and on the water courses is very rich 
and productive. The uplands, though not so good, are easily improved 
and are well adapted to tobacco. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, tobacco, and hay; corn, wheat 
and tobacco being the chief — especially the last two_ Fruits and vege- 
tables of the usual varieties are produced to a considerable extent, es- 
pecially grapes, to which much of the land is admirably adapted. Mar- 
ket advantages are good, by rail and market carts, to Richmond. Clover 
and timothy do well, and more attention is being paid to the cultivation 
of grasses and the introduction of improved stock. 

The James River Division of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, fol- 
lowing the windings of James river on the southern border of the county 
for over forty miles, furnishes ample and convenient transportation fa- 
cilities. 

Minerals are gold, coal, iron, mica and plumbago. Several of the 
gold and coal mines are being worked; also a fine mica mine near Ir- 
win Station, in the lower end of the county. Petroleum, or naphtha, has 
been found, and the indications are that the oil is in considerable quan- 
tities. Mineral waters are alkaline, chalybeate, sulphur, iron and lithia, 
the most important of which are the fine mineral springs of East Lake. 

Timbers are oak, hickory, walnut, pine, poplar, chestnut, cedar, lo- 
cust and ash. They are limited in quantity, but of fine quality. 



Hand BooJc of Virginia 117 



The climate is salubrious and healthful; water first-class; churches 
and public schools numerous; telephone service and mail facilities very 
good. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,237. 

Goochland Courthouse, the county seat, is located in the southern 
part of the county, thirty miles west of Richmond, and is one mile north 
of Maiden's Adventure depot, James River Division Chesapeake and Ohio 
railway. It is a small country village; its nearest market, Richmond. 
There are no other towns in the county. Altitude, 143 feet. 

Owing to the favorable location of this county, its proximity to Rich- 
mond — the capital city — cheap lands, fine climate and water, it offers 
many inducements for immigration and investment, and realizing the op- 
portunities presented, many northern parties have purchased lands and 
settled in this county and are much pleased. 

This county was formed in 1793 from Wythe, and named 
in honor of Honorable William Grayson, who was a 
GRAYSON member of the Virginia Convention of 1788, which 
adopted the Federal Constitution. It is situated on the 
southern border of the State, 2 65 miles southwest from 
the city of Richmond. 

It contains 438 square miles. The western portion is mountainous, 
but the central and eastern parts lie in a fertile valley, and comprise 




The luscious cantaloupe grows everywhere in Virginia. 

a fine farming section. About forty per cent, of the land is in cultivation. 
The soil is loam and gray granite, with clay subsoil and quite fertile. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, rye, oats, buckwheat, etc., also a 
large quantity of bacon is annually sold. This is an exceedingly fine fruit 
county, varieties such as the apple, pear, peach, quince, cherry, plum, 
grape, etc., grow to great perfection. It seems to be the native home of 
the apple, which is noted for superior flavor and excellence. 

This is a good grass section, producing a considerable amount of 
hay, and having excellent grazing facilities. The county is rapidly com- 
ing to the front in the raising of stock, large numbers of cattle, sheep 
and other live stock being sold every year. 

Of the counties lying on the Blue Ridge plateau, with their almost 



Hand Booh of Virginia 119 

immeasurable mineral wealth, this is one of the most important, with 
its varied deposits of gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, mica, asbestos, gran- 
ite, limestone and freestone. Of these, iron, copper, granite and asbes- 
tos are the most important. 

Tiniber is very abundant and of great variety, such as poplar, oak, 
pine, walnut, hickory, chestnut, ash, etc. 

This county is splendidly watered by New river and its numerous 
tributaries. The streams are especially adapted to every species of game 
fish. The mountain trout is very common in nearly all the streams, and 
the famous New river catfish reaches its highest perfection in these 
waters. 

Grayson may be considered not only one of the best watered counties 
in the State, but as having the finest water power. New river furnishing 
more than a thousand horse-power per mile, according to government 
survey, and all the creeks affording excellent power, every mile or two, 
for purposes of milling and manufacturing. 

This county has the distinction of having the highest mountains in 
the State, the Balsam, or Mount Rogers, being the highest, and White 
Top the next in altitude, 5,53 feet above sea level; and for natural 
scenery it is not surpassed in the State. Added to its other attractions 
are numerous fine sulphur springs. 

This county has made rapid progress in the past few years in the 
construction of good, commodious and up-to-date school-houses and 
churches. 

Several high schools, as well as the public school system, are in a 
prosperous condition. Telephone service and mail facilities of the county 
are very good; financial condition favorable, and the people imbued with 
a spirit of enterprise and progress. 

Total population, census of 1910, 19,856. 

Independence, the county seat, is a country village of about 2 00 in- 
habitants, situated in a fertile valley on a branch of New river, a little 
east of the centre of the county. It has several hotels, churches, stores, 
a saddlery, smith shops, two fraternal orders, two newspapers, and a 
public school. 

This county was formed in 183 8 from the western part 
of Orange, and was named after General Nathaniel 

GREENE Greene, of the Revolution. It is situated in the north 
central part of the State, sixty-six miles northwest from 
Richmond, and lies on the eastern slope of the Blue 
Ridge mountains. 

It contains 150 square miles. Average size of farms is 150 acres; 
mountain lands cheap. The surface is mountainous or hilly, and about 
one-third in cultivation; the soil red and gray loam and very fertile, pro- 
ducing corn, wheat, oats, rye tobacco, and the grasses. Fruits, such as 
apples, peaches, pears, cherries, and the snaaller kinds, are raised in con- 
siderable abundance, and of good quality, and, in fact, may properly be 
termed the county's most profitable industry. The county is also ad- 
mirably adapted to raising stock, especially sheep. 

The Southern railroad runs within a few miles of the eastern border 
of the county. The Rockingham turnpike, macadamized from Harrison- 
burg to Gordonsville, passes directly through the county, and affords am- 
ple facilities for the farmers in getting their products to the markets. 

Minerals are copper and iron, but the lack of convenient transporta- 
tion has retarded the development of them. 

Timber is abundant, consisting of pine, oak, hickory, chestnut, wal- 
nut, and poplar, the most merchantable of which are oak and pine. Nu- 
merous saw mills and grain mills are in operation. There are several 
water courses in the county, tributaries of the Rapidan and Rivanna riv- 
ers, which afford abundant water power for mills, etc. On the head 



130 Department of Agriculture 

waters of South river, in this county, is a very beautiful and romantic 
cascade, at which the water falls over a precipice 160 feet. 

Climate, water and health of the county are exceptionally good; 
churches and schools numerous and convenient. 

Population, census of 1910, 6,937. 

Stanardsville, the county seat, is in the central portion of the county, 
and has a population of about three hundred. It contains several public 
schools, churches and fraternal orders. 

Ruckersville is a small village in the southeastern part of the county. 
This county, formed in 17 80 from Brunswick, is one of 
the southern border counties, forty-eight miles south of 
GREENSVILLE Richmond, and eighty miles west of the Atlantic ocean. 
It contains an area of 28 8 square miles. About one- 
third of the land is in cultivation. The surface is level 
or slightly rolling, the soil generally a sandy loam, easily tilled. The 
population last census was 11,890. 

The farm products are varied and valuable, such as tobacco, corn, 
wheat, oats, cotton, peanuts, broom corn, and sweet potatoes, the most 
important of which are cotton and peanuts. Tobacco is also one of the 
chief staples. Fruits of many varieties are cultivated, especially grapes 
and the small fruits. Transportation facilities are good. The Atlantic 
Coast Line railway, the Southern railway and the Seaboard Air Line and 
Virginian railways traverse the county. 

Marl is the only mineral, but it is abundant and valuable as a fer- 
tilezer for some of the staple crops, especially peanuts. 

Timbers are principally white oak, ash, pine, sycamore, poplar, ce- 
dar, hickory and chestnut. 

The Nottoway river on the north, and the Meherrin in the centre, 
with their tributaries, afford an ample water supply and abundance of 
fish, besides water power for numerous grain mills. 

The climate is pleasant and healthful, and not subject to extremes 
of either heat or cold. Water is good, churches and schools numerous, 
and the people kind and hospitable. 

This county was formed in 1752 from Lunenburg, and is 
one of the largest and most populous counties in the 
HALIFAX State. It lies in the heart of the finest tobacco growing 
section of the State, midway from east to west of the 
border line, ninety miles southwest from Richmond. 

It contains an area of 806 square miles, about one-third of which is 
in cultivation. The surface is rolling; soil of the ridge lands is of a 
soft gray, sandy character; that on the streams is a loam of great fer- 
tility. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, rye, oats, hay and tobacco. Fruits, 
vegetables and dairyl products are of considerable importance, and prove 
valuable, with proper care and attention. The chief industry is tobacco 
growing, and much is of the finest grades of bright wrappers. Almost 
every farmer is engaged in this line of agriculture. 

The raising of fine stock, horses, cattle and sheep, is attracting the 
attention of the farmers as a source of profit, especially sheep raising, 
which is being conducted very successfully. 

Most excellent railroad facilities are furnished by the Southern, the 
Lynchburg and Durham and the Atlantic and Danville railroads, which 
traverse the county in all directions. 

Minerals are iron, copper, slate, plumbago, rhanganese, gold and 
mica, several of which have been worked to some extent. Gold is profitably 
mined at Red Bank. Timber is plentiful, such as hickory, oak, pine and 
poplar. 

This section of Virginia has a mean annual temperature of fifty- 
eight degrees, and the climate is pleasant and healthful. Schools and 



Hand Booh of Virginia 131 

churches of the various denominations are numerous and convenient; 
first-class high schools. 

Population, census of 1910, 40,044. 

Houston, the county seat, is situated on Banister river, and on the 
Lynchburg and Durham division of the Norfolk and Western railway. It 
is a thriving town of over seven hundred inhabitants, surrounded by a 
fertile section of the county. It contains two flouring mills; also, 
numerous churches, schools, a high school, two banks, a newspaper, and 
a lodge of Masons. 

This county was formed in 1720 from New Kent, and 
lies in the central part of the State, between the Pa- 
HANOVER munky and Chickahominy rivers, five miles north of 
Richmond, and contains 478 square miles. Surface is 
level in eastern part, and undulating in central and 
western portions. 

Soil, light sandy, or gray loam, river lands very productive and valu- 
able, yielding fine crops of corn, oats and wheat, and well adapted to 
trucking. Sweet potatoes and melons, for which the county is noted, at- 
tain here their highest perfection. The higher land in the central and 
western portion is especially suited to the culture of tobacco and the 
grasses. Considerable attention is paid to fruit culture. Several large 
canneries for fruits and vegetables are in successful operation. Trucking 
is extensively and profitably carried on, and a considerable number of the 
farmers make dairying and poultrying a prominent and successful part 
of their occupation. Truck farming may be considered the most profit- 
able industry of the county, the more valuable on account of the prox- 
imity to the Richmond city market and others. 

This is not, strictly speaking, a stock and grazing county, but it pro- 
duces many fine blooded horses and cattle, and winter feeding of fat stock 
is carried on successfully. 

Railroads are the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac, and the 
Chesapeake and Ohio. 

Minerals are mica, feldspar, asbestos, phosphate of lime, and gneiss; 
also marl of several varieties and greensand are found here in large 
quantities and are very profitably used on the lands. 

Timbers are oak, pine, hickory, ash, elm, and poplar. Considerable 
quantities of lumber, cross-ties and cord wood are marketed. 

The county is abundantly watered by the North and South Anna, 
Pamunkey and Chickahominy rivers and their branches. 

At Ashland, Randolph-Macon College is located, one of the oldest 
and most noted schools in the State, besides a graded school of a high 
order; and while mainly a residential town, with many fine homes, it 
has an excellent trade and considerable business operations. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 17,200. 

This sketch would be incomplete without reference to Hanover as 
having been the birthplace of both Patrick Henry and Henry Clay, two 
of the most eminent orators and statesmen this country has ever pro- 
duced. 

This county was one of the original shires into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. It is situated at the head 
HENRICO of tidewater, on the north side of the James river, which 
divides it from Chesterfield, and south of the Chicka- 
hominy, which separates it from Hanover. 

Its length is twenty-seven miles, mean breadth about eight miles, 
and it contains 273 square miles, the greater portion of which is in cul- 
tivation. The river lands are the most productive, best improved, and 
command the highest prices. The surface is undulating; the soil, vary- 
ing from light loam to stiff clay, is susceptible of a high state of culti- 
vation. The lands upon the James river are generally alluvial, of a deep 
chocolate color, and are among the best wheat lands of the State. 



12'2 Departiiient of Agnculiure 

The city of Richmond divides the county into two nearly equal parts. 

Farm products are varied and extensive, consisting principally of 
corn, oats, wheat and tobacco; also barley and rye are raised to some ex- 
tent. The grasses, clover and timothy, succeed well, and hay is an im- 
portant crop. 

There are many large nurseries, orchards and vineyards in the county, 
and considerable attention is given to this line of industry. There are 
also a number of dairy and poultry farms adjacent to the city of Rich- 
mond that do a large and successf-ul business. Market-gardening and 
trucking are very entensively carried on, and rank as perhaps the most 
profitable industries of the county. This county, with Richmond in the 
centre and four railroads traversing it, has very superior market advan- 
tages. There is nothing tliat a farmer cannot sell at fair prices. 

Timbers are pine, oak, ash, maple, cedar, hickory, walnut, chestnut 
and cypress. These are quite limited in quantity, but the proximity of 
the coal and lumber yards of Richmond obviates, to a great extent, 
any inconvenience that might arise from the scarcity of fuel and timber. 

James river, on the southern border, and the Chickahominy on the 
northern, with their tributaries, furnish abundant water supply and 
drainage. The lower portion of the county enjoys the advantages afford- 
ed by water navigation on the James, and also its excellent shad, herring 
and sturgeon fisheries. 

The climate is mild and healthful, and water abundant and good. 

This county enjoys exceptional educational advantages, with its ad- 
mirable public schools and its close proximity to the high schools and 
colleges of Richmond. Churches of all denominations are distributed 
over the county, and telephone and mail facilities are ample and con- 
venient. The public roads are carefully looked after, and much improve- 
ment is shown in this very important particular. On account of loca- 
tion, social advantages, and in many other respects, some of which have 
been briefly alluded to, Henrico offers to homeseekers superior advant- 
ages. Realizing the favorable opportunities presented, quite a large num- 
ber of foreigners, chiefly Germans, have located in the county, which is 
indicated to some extent by the largely increased population, as shown 
below. 

Population, census of 1910, 23,437. 

Richmond, the county seat, the capital of the State, is situated on 
the border of the county, on the north bank of the James river, at the 
head of tidewater. It is a most attractive city, having extensive com- 
merce, trade and manufactories, and is the chief market of the State. 

This county was formed in 177 7 from Pittsylvania, and 
named in honor of Patrick Henry. It is situated on the 

HENRY southern border of the State, 180 miles southwest from 
Richmond. 

It is nearly a square of eighteen miles, and contains 4 2.5 
square miles. Surface is undulating, and in parts hilly and mountainous. 
One-third of the land is in cultivation. Soil, a red clay and fertile, pro- 
ducing a good crop of corn, oats, rye, wheat and tobacco. The last is the 
staple crop, over 3,000,000 pounds of the finest bright quality being 
raised annually. The numerous tobacco curing barns scattered over sec- 
tions of the county give the appearance there of a continuous country 
village. The varieties of tobacco grown in Henry are noted for their 
superior quality, and quality considered, this is one of the finest tobacco 
counties in America. The soil is well adapted to the production of sweet 
potatoes, which yield largely under good cultivation. 

Grass does well in this soil, and numbers of horses, cattle and sheep 
of fine breeds are grown. 

Fruits of the usual kinds do well, especially apples, peaches and 



Hand Bool- of Virginia 



12'3 



grapes; also, nectarines, apricots, and figs have been grown. Dairy and 
garden products are varied and valuable. 

The county is traversed from north to south and from east to west 
by its lines of railway, the Danville and Western and the Norfolk and 
Western, which furnish ready means of communication to the markets, 
giving impetus to its agriculture and trade. 

Limestone, mica, asbestos, granite, soapstone and allanite are found 
in paying qualities, and the iron ore is inexhaustible. There are also 
chalybeate and alum waters, but undeveloped. 

This county compares favorably with other sections of the State in 
its timber supply, the most numerous and valuable species being pine, 
oak, poplar and hickory. 

Smith and Mayo rivers, with their numerous branches, afford an am- 





' t^VV ji 



,. !'«^; 



;•„'. -^^-i 



-^lifei wliVv* ^i 



A flue Sliropshire Down Ram — Sheep Husbandry is very profitable in Vir- 

fi:inla. 



pie water supply and good water power. Numerous flour mills and saw 
mills, and an agricultural implement factory and leather factory are 
located on these waters. There are also a number of tobacco factories in 
different portions of the county that are doing a large and successful 
business. 

The climate is salubrious, with comparatively mild winters and 
pleasant summers; health good, with no section of the State freer from 
malaria; water excellent with perennial streams of the freestone water 
in all parts of the county; churches and schools numerous and convenient. 

Population, census of 1910, 18,4.59. 

Martinsville is the county seat. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 1S*5 

This county, formed in 1847 from Bath and Pendle- 
ton counties, is northwest from Richmond about 150 
HIGHLAND miles. It is nearly a square of about twenty miles each 
way, and contains 407 square miles. The surface is 
mountainous with very fertile valleys between. The 
mountains furnish fine range for young stock and sheep, upon which they 
grow and thrive well. About one-fourth of the land is in cultivation. The 
soil is mainly limestone. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, butter, honey, 
cheese, dried fruits and maple sugar, leading the State in the last product, 
and fourth in buckwheat. The western portion of the county produces 
abundant crops of grass and hay wherever cleared, blue grass not inferior 
to that of the best lands of Kentucky being indigenous to this soil. The 
grazing quality of the land can hardly be surpassed in the State; some of 
the best cattle marketed east and north are fattened in this county and 
taken right off the grass, no corn feeding needed, and large numbers are 
sold each year, some for the export trade. It is also splendidly adapted 
to sheep, large numbers of which are grown. Apples, pears, peaches and 
all fruits suited to this latitude can, with proper care and attention, be 
grown in this county. Agriculture, combined with stock growing and 
grazing, are the most profitable industries. 

There is no railroad in the county, though one or more have been 
chartered and are now in process of location. The nearest railroad sta- 
tion is Bartow, on the west side of the Alleghany mountains, twenty-three 
miles. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 5,317. 

Monterey, the county seat, is located in the central portion of the 
county, forty-six miles from Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike. It is a 
very pretty, busy little town of 246 inhabitants, and each year new build- 
ings are being erected. It has an excellent, modern water and sewer sys- 
tem and an electric light plant. Two handsome churches, two banks, two 
steam factories for the manufacture of lumber for building purposes — 
sash, doors, etc. — and it contains, besides, two mills, seven stores, news- 
paper, excellent schools and fraternal orders, one of which, the Masonic, 
is now erecting a six-thousand-dollar temple. Monterey is becoming famed 
as a summer and health resort. It now has a new hotel of twenty-six 
rooms, and another is to be erected during the present year. 

This county was one of the original shires into 
which Virginia was divided in 1634. It is situated 
ISLE OF WIGHT on the south side of the lower James river, ninety- 
eight miles southeast of Richmond, but only fifty- 
miles air line, and extends from the James river, 
its northern boundary, to within eight miles of the North Carolina line. 

It is thirty-five miles long, with a mean width of about ten miles, 
and contains an area of 352 square miles. The surface is generally level, 
the soil from gray medium to light sandy loam, easily tilled and pro- 
ductive. 

Farm products are corn, oats, peanuts and potatoes. All the large 
and small fruits, melons and vegetables find here a soil and climate ad- 
mirably adapted to their growth and perfection. Large quantities of these 
are shipped from this county to the northern cities. 

Poultry succeeds well, embracing everything from turkey to the guinea 
fowl; and game is abundant, the streams furnishing geese, ducks, swans 
the other water fowls; the swamps, sora, woodcock and snipe. The fish 
and oyster industry is large and valuable; large quantities of fish are taken 
in the spring and shipped to northern markets. Trucking is extensively 
engaged in, especially in the eastern portion of the county. This industry, 
its fisheries, and its peanut crop, constitute the most important productions 
of the county. Of stocks raised, hogs are the ijiost important, of which \X 



Hand Booh of Virginia 1S7 



produces a considerable number. The Smithfield bams have a world-wide 
reputation. 

Population, census of 1910, 14,929. 

Isle of AVight, the county seat, is located near the center of the 
county, about eight miles from Windsor and seven from Smithfield; its 
nearest markets are Suffolk and Norfolk. Windsor station is also a town of 
some importance on the Norfolk and Western railroad. 

This county was one of the original shires into which 

Virginia was divided in 1634; and here, at Jamestown, 

JAMES CITY 1607, was the first settlement by the English in this 

country. The principal portion of the county lies along 

the north side of the lower James river, one portion 

extending across the peninsula to the York river on the northeast. It is 

distant from Richmond forty-five miles, and contains an area of 160 

square miles. 

The surface is generally level, v/ith comparatively a small per cent, in 
cultivation; soil silicious with a mixture of clay, and naturally fertile. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, oats, peanuts and potatoes. Grass 
succeeds fairly well, especially clover. All the fruits common to this lati- 
tude are successfully cultivated; also melons, truck, etc. Trucking is 
extensively carried on, and is one of the profitable industries of the 
county. 

Those of the rural population not engaged in the cultivation of the 
soil are employed in oystering and fishing, and these latter may be con- 
sidered among the most profitable industries of the county. Fish of all 
the valuable species are very abundant in all the waters, and from York 
river oysters of fine size and quality are obtained. These industries give 
employment to a large number of men, and afford desirable articles of 
food for the inhabitants. In stock, sheep do very well. This county is the 
largest producer of Irish potatoes on the Virginia peninsula. 

Marl is found of good quality and in large quantity, also fine brick 
and other clays. 

The climate is equable, the tem-erature being so equalized by sur- 
rounding large bodies of water that the extremes in summer and winter 
are avoided. Health is unsurpassed, and water supplied from artesian 
and ordinary wells is very good. Churches are numerous, representing 
the different Protestant denominations. Public schools are reasonably con- 
venient to all parts of the countv. Telephone service is ample, both local 
and long-distance, and mail facilities are good. Progress and advance- 
ment has been general and rapid. The financial condition is excellent. 
There are four banks in the county. 

Population, census of 1910, 3,624. 

Williamsburg, the county seat, is located on the Chesapeake and Ohio 
railroad, in tte southern portion of the county, about midway between the 
York and the James rivers, and is the oldest incorporated city in the 
State, having been settled in 163 2. In 16 98 the seat of government was 
moved from_ Jamestown to Williamsburg, and it continued the capital until 
1779, when it was removed to Richmond. 

Williamsburg was once the center of the wealth, fashion and learning 
of the Old Dominion, the influence of which has left its Impress not only 
upon the inhabitants of the city and surrounding county, but upon the 
State at large, in the men of State and national renutation that have sronp 
out from its ancient seat of learning. William and Mary Collese, whif^h is 
located here, and is the oldest collegiate institute in the United Statfis — 
with the exception of Harvard College — was founded in 1693, and datp=! 
from the time of England's sovereigns, AVilliam and Mary, who contributed 
to its endowment, and for whom it was named. This institutioiT has been 
three times destroyed by fire, the last time by the Federal soldiers during 
the late war, but it was rebuilt by private subscription, and is still doing 



12'"8 Department of Agriculture 



a noble work. The Eastern State Hospital, founded in 1773, is also lo- 
cated here. It is a State institution with a large number of patients. 
There are numerous churches, the most noted of which is Burton Parish 
church, which contains the font from which Pocahontas was baptized; 
also several fraternal orders, a prosperous high school, and several public 
and private schools. 

In this county are some noted points and relics of antiquity. Of the 
former, nothing possesses more interest than Jamestown, which was set- 
tled May 13, 1607, by Captain John Smith and his companions. Of this 
deeply interesting spot, little had remained but a churchyard and the ruins 
of an old church till recently, when in preparation for the Jamestown 
tercentenary, a handsome new church and hotel have been built. Another 
curious relic of the past is the old stone house, on Ware creek, a tributary 
of the York, which is supposed to have been built by Captain John Smith. 
This county was the scene of two battles fought during the Revolution, 
the first June 25, 1781, at Spencer's Ordinary; the other near Green Spring, 
once the elegant home of Sir William Berkeley. It also felt the shock of 
battle at Fort Magruder during the late war. May 4 and 5, 1862. 

This county was formed in 1691 from New Kent 
during the reign of William and Mary, on ac- 
KING AND QUEEN count of which it takes its name. This is an 
eastern county, thirty miles northeast from Rich- 
mond; it lies between the Mattaponi and Pianka- 
tank rivers, and is about sixty miles long by ten miles wide; area, 33 6 
square miles. 

Surface along the river is level; the back country undulating the some- 
times hilly; about thirty per cent, in cultivation; soil, gray and chocolate 
loam, and variable in quality and productiveness. Some lands are heavy 
and stiff; others light. The river lands, which constitute a large part of 
the area, are very productive, and the extensive beds of marl found here 
furnish ready and permanent means of improvement. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye and hay. Some of the light 
lands produce profitable crops of peas, which are also used as a fallow 
crop. Some good tobacco is raised in the upper portion of the county, and 
its cultivation is gradually extending. Many of the farmers grow good 
crops of clover, timothy and orchard grass hay, and stock for domestic use 
is raised. Sheep husbandry is especially profitable. Fruits and vegetables 
are in great variety and abundance. The adaptability of the soil and con- 
venient water transportation are rapidly developing fruit culture and 
truck for markets, especially Irish and sweet potatoes, to which the lands 
seem specially adapted. These may very profitably be classed as among 
the most profitable industries of the county. 

Fish also, principally shad and herring, constitate a large item in the 
production and exports of the county, and in the lower parts of the county, 
on York river, large quantities of the best of oysters are caught, and the 
business is so profitable as often to engage the attention of the people of 
that section to the neglect of their agricultural interests. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,576. 

King and Queen, the county seat, is located in the southern part of 
the county, near the Mattaponi river. Its nearest market is Richmond. 

There is much to recommend this county to the home seeker. Society 
is good, the people are educated, refined and religious; and there are few 
sections in which the people live more easily and enjoy a higher standard of 
comfort than here in the tidewater section of Virginia. The forests furnish 
game; the rivers the finest of fish, and the land nearly everything else 
necessary for comfortable subsistence. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 12'9 

This county was formed in 1720 from Riclimond 

county. It lies in the northeastern portion of the 

KING GEORGE State, forty-five miles from Richmond, and forms 

part of the peninsula known as the Northern Neck. 

It is bordered on the north by the Potomac river, 

which separates it from the State of Maryland, and on the south by the 

Rappahannock river, which forms the boundary between it and Caroline 

and Essex, with Westmoreland and the Potomac on the east, and Stafford 

on the west, and contains an area of 183 square miles. 

About fifty per cent, of the land is in cultivation. The surface is roll- 
ing, lands generally good, especially on the rivers, and easily cultivated. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, alfalfa, tobacco, rye, oats and pota- 
toes, of which considerable quantities are produced. Commercial ferti- 
lizers are generally used. Fruits of all kinds yield and pay well in this 
section, small fruits, grapes, and berries receiving increased attention. 
The production of truck and vegetables is yearly increasing, the rich river 
lands being especially adapted to their production. Stock succeeds finely, 
especially sheep; owing to the mild climate, very little provender is re- 
quired for them. Poultry raising is a profitable industry. 

This county has no railroads, but this deficiency is amply supplied by 
its splendid water navigation. With the Potomac on its northern border, 
and the Rappahannock on its southern, it has a frontage of twenty miles 
on each river at convenient points, upon which steamers and sail vessels 
touch for freight and passengers to and from Fredericksburg, Alexandria, 
Washington, Norfolk and Baltimore. Besides the valuable transportation 
facilities afforded by these streams, they furnish large resources in fish, 
oysters and wild fowl, the first ranking as one of the most important in- 
dustries of the county. 

Marl of various kinds is found in abundance, and has been successfully 
used for many years as a fertilizer. 

Population, census of 1910. 6.378. 

King George, the county seat, is a small village located in the central 
part of the county. 

This county was formed in 1701 from King and 

Queen, and is situated twenty miles northeast from 

KING WILLIAM Richmond, on a narrow peninsula between the Mat- 

taponi and Pamunkev rivers, which unite at West 

Point to form the< York. It is thirty miles long, 

with an average of about eight miles in width, and contains an area of 

246 square miles. 

The lands are now being offered at a very low price, which will not 
continue any great length of time, as present prices are attracting inves- 
tors from the North and West. 

The surface is level on the rivers; otherwise rolling. About 60 per 
cent, of the land is under cultivation; the soil generally light chocolate, 
with clay subsoil, and verv productive, especially on and near the rivers. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, tobacco, oats, peanuts, peas, potatoes, 
etc. Clover, timothy, millet, alfalfa and other hay crops do well, and hay 
may be considered one of the staple products of the county. Fruits of all 
varieties are grown, and melons and early vegetables are quite profitable. 
Trucking, especially in the lower end of the county, is one of its chief occu- 
pations, and is found very profitable, owing to easy and quick marketing 
facilities. 

In this portion of the countv the fish and ovster industry is a very im- 
portant and profitable one. All the choice varieties of fish, such as shad, 
herring, rock, trout, etc., are sunnlied bv the Mattanoni and Pamunkey 
rivers, which bound two sides of the countv. Water fowls are also abund- 
ant; and poultry does well and is profitable, especially for the early mar- 
ket. Stock raising is very successfully engaged in on the large farms, 



130 Department of Agriculture 

especially those on the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers, which are well 
adapted to this industry. 

This county has good shipping facilities and market advantages, by 
rail or water, with the York river branch of the Southern railway, and with 
steamers and sail vessels traversing both rivers. Regular lines ply between 
West Point and Baltimore and Norfolk, by way of York river. 
Population, census of 1910, 8,547. 

King William, the county seat, is twenty-seven miles northeast from 
Richmond, and two miles from the Mattaponi river. 

This county was formed in 1651 from Northumberland, 

and is located in the northeastern part of the State, on 

LANCASTER the north bank of the Rappahannock river, and on the 

Chesapeake bay, fifty miles from Norfolk, and sixty 

miles air line, from Richmond. 

It contains an area of 137 square miles — 80,48 6 acres, 88 5 farms. 

Average size farms, sixty acres. 

Surface is mostly level, but in some parts rolling; soil a sandy loam, 
with clay subsoil, and is easilv imnroved with clover and peas and the judi- 
cious use of fertilizers. Farm products are wheat, corn, oats, peas, pota- 
toes, varied trucks and grasses, of which trucking is the most important 
and profitable, owing to cheap transportation rates; but some of the lands 
produce fine crops of corn and wheat. Fruits of all kinds are abundant, 
and early fruits and berries are especially profitable, owing to proximity 
to Baltimore, Washington and other markets. The most important source 
of urofit and support to the people is the fish and oyster interest, and this 
industry is attracting to the county considerable numbers of settlers from 
other counties of the State, and from other States. As one of the counties 
of that isolated peninsula known as the Northern Neck of Virginia, there 
are no railroads; but water transportation facilities are excellent and 
chefip. with steamers plying dailv between Baltimore, Norfolk and Fred- 
ericksburg, which touch at the various land in es in the county. In recent 
years the introduction of napi^tha and p'asoline boats has broueht this 
section into closer communication with the rest of the State, and made 
mail facilities among the best. 

Live stock of the county consist of horses, cattle, sheep and hoes, all 
of which are raised to some extent; but poultry raising is perhaps attrai^t- 
ing most attention on account of easy access to market and the great de- 
mand for eggs in the northern markets. Wild water fowls are also shipped 
in great quantities from this section. 

Timbers are oak, hickory, chestnut, dogwood, poplar, pine and hollv, 
of which a considerable amount is shipped; also a large quantity of cord- 
wood. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,752. 

Lancaster, the county seat, is located in the northern part of the 
county. 

This county was formed in 1792 from Russell and named in honor 
of Henry Lee, then Governor of Virginia. It lies on the south- 
TjEE eastern slone of the Cumberland mountains, in the extreme south- 
west corner of the State, 4 50 miles from Richmond, havins: Ken- 
tucky on the north and west, Tennessee on the south, Scott and 
Wise counties on the east, and is marked at its extreme western limit by 
the widely known Cumberland Gap. 

The county is sixty miles in length, by seventeen in breadth, and con- 
tains an area of 433 square miles. 

The surface is hilly, and some parts mountainous, espei^iallv the west- 
ern part, but the mountains are generally rich to the top. The soil is lime- 
stone and sandstone, and while a large proportion of the county is very 
fertile and productive, the two principal vallevs in the eastern part are 
especially noted in this respect. About one-half of the area of the county 
js in cultivation, and produces abundant crops of corn, wheat, oats, rye. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 131 

potatoes, hay, etc. Some attention is also paid to the cultivation of to- 
bacco of fine grades. Average yield of corn, twenty-five bushels per acre; 
best crops are from fifty to seventy-five bushels per acre. Wheat yields 
six to thirty bushels per acre. 

This is a fine grass county for both the cultivated grasses and the in- 
digenous blue grass, especially in the eastern portion. The broad and beau- 
tiful valleys in this section which have been for many years cultivated in 
corn have been principally converted into grazing lands, and the county is 
now rapidly coming to the front in the production of horses, sheep and 
cattle, having an annual surplus of 6,000 sheep and 5,000 cattle, the great 
proportion being stock cattle. This county has also ranked among the 
first in the State in the production of hogs. Considerable attention is being 
paid to the cultivation of fruit, having at least 2,500 acres in orchards of 
the various varieties. Fruit growing and stock raising rank as the most 
profitable industries of the county. 

The Louisville and Nashville railroad extends through the entire 
length of the county, affording excellent railroad faciliites. The Virginia 
and Southwestern also extends through a small portion of the county. 

Lee is well watered by Powell's river and its tributaries. In the 
southeastern and eastern corners, Black Water and Wild Cat creeks fiow 
through small sections of the county. These streams offer a large num- 
ber of fine water powers, affording from 60 to 250 cubic feet of water ner 
second. Powell's river towards its lower end, in the county, is navigable 
through the winter months by bateaux, and furnishes transportation for 
large quantities of grain and forest products, 50,000 bushels of wheat 
being shipped in this way during the winter season. This method of 
transportation, however, has been largely superseded by railroads. 

This county is rich in minerals, such as iron, coal, lead, zinc, lime- 
stone, barytes, kaolin, but the most important are the iron and coal, 
which with proper development will be a source of vast wealth to the 
county. To an almost unlimited extent of fossil red iron ores are added 
extensive deposits of brown ores and of coals. It contains some of the 
finest known veins of bituminous, splint and cannel coal. There are also 
mineral waters — chalybeate, white, red and black sulphur — but not im- 
portant to any great extent. 

Population, census of 1910, 23,840. 

Jonesville, the county seat, is a thriving village of six hundred inhabi- 
tants. 

This county was formed in 17 57 from Fairfax. It is the 
northernmost of the Piedmont counties, 100 miles north of 
liOUDOUN Richmond, and lies on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge 
mountains. It contains an erea of 519 square miles. Aver- 
age size farms 100 acres. The surface is varied, with moun- 
tains, gently sloping hills and broad valleys. About sixty per cent, of the 
land is under cultivation, of which the greater part is exceedingly fertile; 
soil, clay and loam, with some sand. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, rye, oats, hay, etc. Average yield of 
wheat is about twenty bushels, and corn, thirty-five bushels ner acre; 
though fifty and sixty bushels of the latter are not an unusual yield. This 
county takes first rank in the production of corn, and third in amount of 
v/heat and grass raised in the State. Blue grass also is indigenous here, 
rivaling the best blue grass lands of Kentucky. 

Much attention is paid to improved breeds of horses, cattle, s^ieep and 
hogs, and large numbers of sheep and cattle are grazed annuallv. This 
fountv stands first in its wool clip, and third in the number of horses 
raised, of which there are many blooded, with fine records. Loudoun ranks 
high in the number of her milch cows, and the amount of butter made, 
and large quantities of milk and cream are shipped daily to Washington. 

Population, census of 1910, 21,167. 

Leesburg, the county seat, is a thriving town of 2,000 inhabitants. 



Sand Book of Virginia 133 



This county was formed in 1742 from Hanover. It is situated 
in middle Virginia, in what is known as the Piedmont sec- 
LOUISA tion, forty miles northwest from Richmond. It is thirty miles 
long and about eighteen miles wide, and contains an area of 
529 square miles. 

The surface is gently undulating, and about one-half of the land is 
under cultivation. The soil is generally a granite or gray soil, with clay 
subsoil, and of good quality. In the western part of the county the lands 
are very fertile, and embrace the noted Green Springs district, supposed to 
be the bed of an ancient lake. Along the borders of the streams are many 
wide and fertile flats, while on the uplands may be found almost every 
variety and quality of soil. 

Farm products are wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, potatoes, hay, etc., all 
of which are very successfully produced; especially tobacco, which is the 
staple crop of the county. Violet-growing is proving to be a profitable hor- 
ticultural interest; in recent years the soil has been found to be especially 
adapted to this industry, and especially is this true of the Green Springs 
section. Fruits of every variety are successfully grown, especially small 
fruits, grapes, berries and melons. 

The convenience of the Richmond market renders dairying and poultry 
raising sources of considerable profit to the people. Stock raising and 
grazing are specialties with some of the farmers, and the western, or 
Green Springs section, is also specially adapted to this industry. 

Railroad facilities are ample, and are furnished by the Chesapeake 
and Ohio, which extends almost through the entire length of the county, 
and the Southern, skirting the western end. These bring the county into 
convenient communication with Richmond city, its principal market, and 
with the country north and west. 

This county is rich in minerals, such as gold, copper, iron, mica, soap- 
stone, ochre and pyrites. Gold has been mined with varying success, and 
often profitably. A mica vein has also been worked, and extensive beds of 
iron ore lie contiguous to the Chesapeake and Ohio railway. 

Timber consists of oak, pine, poplar, hickory, walnut, maple, ash; and 
second growth pine abounds to a considerable extent. 

The county is well watered by the North and South Anna rivers, and 
their tributaries, which also furnish abundant water power. Good flour 
and corn mills are located in every neighborhood. Public spirit and enter- 
prise is shown in the erection of three splendid iron bridges over the 
rivers. 

Population, census of 1910, 16,578. 

Louisa, the county seat. 

This county was formed in 1746 and is a southern coun- 
ty, lying near the North Carolina border, fifty-one miles 
LUNENBURG southwest of Richmond, and 125 miles west of Norfolk, 
It is thirty miles long, with an average width of fifteen 
miles, and contains an area of four hundred and seven- 
ty-one square miles. 

Lunenburg county, one of the richest and most fertile counties of the 
State, is probably the least known. Its rich and virgin soil, its vast for- 
ests of timber have long lain dormant, awaiting the shrill whistle of the 
locomotive and the quickening touch of progress to awaken them to life, 
and to bring wealth, not only to the capitalist, but also to the farmer and 
small investor. The recent opening up of the Virginian railway, which 
traverses the county from end to end, has supplied this long-felt want, and 
the county bids fair to be, as it deserves to be, on account of its natural 
wealth and resources, one of the foremost counties of the State. Situated 
on the Virginian railway, 125 miles from Norfolk, easy and cheap transpor- 
tation for its products are afforded to the markets of the world. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 135 

The surface of the county is rolling, with a mean elevation of from 
r>0 to 150 feet above the sea level, rising at points to 58 feet. The soil is 
a grayish slate, easily tilled; the farm products are wheat, corn, oats, grass, 
cotton and tobacco. All these are raised in great abundance and are 
profitable, but tobacco, both heavy, shipping and light leaf, is the principal 
crop. Cattle raising could be made a profitable industry, and sheep do well 
in this county; there is ample water power here, and there are four or five 
large water mills in the county. 

Population 12,780, census 1910. 

This county was formed in 1792 from Culpeper, and lies on 
the east side of the Blue Ridge mountains, in the northern 
MADISON part of the State, sixty-five miles northwest of Richmond. 
On the northwest is Page, from which it is separated by the 
Blue Ridge mountains; on the north, Rappahannock; Cul- 
peper on the east; Orange on the southeast; Greene on the southwest, the 
Rapidan river forming the dividing line. 

It contains an area of 336 square miles; 1,200 farms; average size of 
farms, 140 acres. About one-third of the area is in cultivation. 

The surface is rolling; the soil varies from loam, sand and slate, to 
red clay, and is very productive, especially on the rivers, which embrace 
extensive and fertile bottoms. This is an excellent grass and grain pro- 
ducing county, and the slopes of the mountains are especially adapted to 
tobacco, potatoes, etc. 

Owing to its exemption from late frosts, this section is especially 
adapted to fruit culture, and the pippin and other vavluable apples do well, 
with proper attention. Grape culture is also a profitable industry, especi- 
ally in the section bordering on Orange, the character and quality of the 
soil here being peculiarly favorable to this fruit. Vegetables do well, and 
the dairy product is considerable. 

The Blue Ridge mountains, which extend along the entire northwest 
border, are 3,8 60 feet above sea level at the highest point. The top and 
slopes furnish excellent grazing when cleared, and cattle there thrive well, 
owing to lower temperature and freedom from insect annoyance. 

It has macadamized and other roads. 

There are numerous churches of different denominations, distributed 
well over the county. Educational facilities are excellent. 

Population, census of 1910, 10,055. 

Madison, the county seat and principal town. 

This county was formed in 1790 from Gloucester, and is 

one of the extreme eastern counties of the State, lying on 

MATHIOWS the Chesapeake bay, which bounds it on the east, with 

Mobjack bay and North river on the south and west, a 

small portion of Gloucester on the west, and Piankitank 

river on the north, separating it from Middlesex, thus forming a peninsula, 

united to the mainland by a very narrow neck of county. It is twenty 

miles long and nine miles across at the widest point, and contains an area 

of ninety-two square miles. 

Average size of farms is forty acres. Taking all the advantages of 
locality, soil and climate into consideration, land is cheap and desirable. 
The water courses are very valuable. 

The surface is level, soil a sandy loam, easily cultivated and respond- 
ing readily to fertilizers. Farm products are corn, wheat, rye and oats. 
Fruits do well, but is particularly adapted to the raising of truck and vege- 
tables. 

It ranks as among the first counties of the State in the yield of its 
fisheries, and is also renowned for their superior excellence. Several can- 
ning factories are being operated successfully. 

The nearest railroad station is West Point, in King William county, 
distant about thirty miles, but this deficiency is amply supplied by daily 
steamers from Norfolk and other seaboard cities. 



136 Department of Agriculture 

Shell marl is found in many localities, and utilized to some extent; 
also a species of peat, well adapted to composting, is found in the ravines. 
Principal timbers are pine and oak. 

In addition to the surrounding waters mentioned, the East river, ex- 
tending through the central part of the county, divides it into two nearly 
equal parts, called East and West Mathews. 

Population, census of 1910, 8,972. 

This county was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg, 
and is on the southern border of the State, ninety 
MECIiXjEJVBURG miles southwest from Richmond. It has an average 
length of thirty-six miles and a width of twenty 
miles, and contains an area of 640 square miles; 
about one-third of the lands in cultivation. 

Surface is generally undulating; average elevation above sea level 
about five hundred feet; the soil variable, light sandy to stiff clay, easily 
cultivated, and readily responding to good treatment; along the valleys of 
the streams it is alluvial and exceedingly fertile. 

Farm products are tobacco, peanuts, wheat, corn, oats, cotton and hay. 
This county ranks third in the State in the yield of tobacco, which is three 
and a half million pounds annually, and of fine grade. The various grasses, 
clover, alfalfa, orchard grass, timothy, etc., grow luxuriantly on good soils. 
Fruits are apples, peaches, pears, apricots, cherries, grapes, melons and 
berries of all kinds, which are produced in abundance, large areas being 
appropriated to orchards and to grape culture. Irish and sweet potatoes 
and all the garden vegetables can be abundantly grown; also poultry does 
well in this section, and wild game is abundant. Tobacco being the leading 
crop of the county, the farmers have been so absorbed in its culture as to 
neglect other farm industries; but an interest has recently been awakened 
in stock raising, and, owing to the mild climate and consequent small cost 
of raising stock, this industry is destined to assume large and increasing 
proportions. 

In some portions of the county gold, copper, granite, soapstone and 
kaolin exist, but are undeveloped. Mineral waters are abundant and noted, 
especially the celebrated Buffalo Lithia Springs, on the southern border of 
the county, whose waters are famous the world over for their potential 
health-producing and medicinal properties. At Chase City, Clarksville and 
Jeffress, near South Hill, there are also mineral waters noted for their 
medicinal ingredients and adaption to a wide range of diseases. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 28,956. 

Boydton, the county seat. 

This county was formed from Lancaster in 1675. It is 
situated in the eastern part of the State, forty miles east 
MIDDLESEX of Richmond, and lies between the Rappahannock and 
the Piankitank rivers, with Chesapeake bay on the 
east. 

It is thirty miles long with an average width of six miles; and contains 
an area of 15 6 square miles. The surface is generally level, with an eleva- 
tion above tidewater of ten to thirty feet on the river, and a hundred feet 
or more further back. The soil is light and dark loam, with clay subsoil, 
easily cultivated and readily improved. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, hay, etc., and the lands are 
especially adapted in some parts to the growth of clover. Peaches, apples, 
pears, plums, apricots, and the smaller fruits and berries do well; also 
vegetables of the various kinds, giving employment to several fruit and 
vegetable canneries. Being convenient to market, this county is very 
favorably located for trucking, which is carried on to a considerable extent, 
especially in the lower part of the county. 

Poultry is a profitable and increasing industry, with several large 
poultry establishments in the county. Stock is grown to some extent, the 
most profitable branch of which is spring lambs. The most extensive and 




One of Virginia's charming Colonial homes. 



Band Boole of Virginia 137 



profitable industry, however, is in fish, and oysters, for which this county 
is scarcely second to any in the State. It has several fish and oyster can- 
neries and fish fertilizer factories. 

Large deposits of marl abound, and this has been extensively used with 
great benefit to the soil in connection with clover and cow peas, in proper 
rotation of crops. 

Timbers are oak, pine, chestnut, ash and cypress, of good quality and 
quantity. The county is well watered by the surrounding water courses 
and their tributary streams, which also afford water power for numerous 
grist mills. There are also many steam mills in operation. Water com- 
munication and transportation is direct by daily steamers to Baltimore, 
Fredericksburg and Norfolk. Population, census of 1910, 8,852. 

Saluda, the county seat, is located near the center of the county. 

This county was formed in 1776 from a por- 
tion of the territory then known as the Fin- 

MONTGOMERY castle district. The balance of the district was 

merged into Washington and Kentucky coun- 
ties, the latter comprising the present State of 
Kentucky. Montgomery has since been shorn of much of its original ter- 
ritory by the formation of several new counties on every side. 

It is 175 miles southwest from Richmond, about midway between 
that city and the extreme southwest, and is about twenty-two miles on 
each of its irregular sides, containing an area of 3 94 square miles. 

The surface is rolling and mountainous generally. The soil varies 
according to the geological structure, being principally clay and limestone, 
and some portions slate and freestone; the latter a lighter soil, and gener- 
ally thin and sterile on the hills. The greater portion of the county is 
very rich and productive, yielding fine crops of corn, wheat, oats, rye. 
It is especially adapted to the grasses, both the cultivated and the natural 
blue grass; so that the production of hay, grazing and stock raising are 
extensively carried on and are very profitable. Some of the finest herds of 
shorthorn cattle in the State are found in this county, and it is also speci- 
ally adapted to the raising of sheep. Fruits of all kinds are readily and 
abundantly grown, and the vegetable and dairy products are also items 
of considerable revenue to the farmer. 

Population, census of 1910, 17,268. 

Christiansburg, the county seat, is situated near the center of the 
county, one mile south of Christiansburg station, Norfolk and Western 
railroad, and on the summit of the Alleghany mountains, 2,200 feet above 
tidewater. It is a beautiful and growing town of 6 59 inhabitants (last 
census), and is surrounded by a fertile and picturesque country. 

Blacksburg is specially noted as the seat of the Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute, a military institution that is doing admirable work in educating 
the young men of the State in agriculture, the mechanical arts and engi- 
neering. The buildings are principally brick, large and commodious, and 
the college grounds extensive and very attractive. The college farm, con- 
sisting of 338 acres of excellent land in fine state of cultivation, is devoted 
to experimental purposes. The shops are well equipped with valuable 
machinery for iron and wood work; also with foundry and forge. The 
income of the college consists of an annuity from the Federal government 
and & liberal appropriation by the State. It is one of the largest and most 
progressive schools in the State, being taxed to its full capacity in the 
number of pupils. The military feature is decidedly attractive and useful. 

This county was formed in 163 9 from Isle of 
Wight, and is located in the southeastern por- 
NANSEMOND tion of the State sixty-six miles from Rich- 

mond. It is thirty-five miles long and nineteen 
miles wide, extending from Hampton Roads, on 
the north, to the North Carolina line on the south, and contains an area of 
393 square miles. 



138 Department of Agriculture 

About one-third of the area is in cultivation. Sixty-five thousand 
acres of the Dismal Swamp is embraced in this county. The soil is sandy 
loam, with clay subsoil. The lands on the river are of very fine quality. 
Farm products are corn, oats, wheat, cotton and peanuts. In the pro- 
duction of the last, this county ranks among the first in the State. Vege- 
tables of all kinds grow to great perfection, and come into market early; 
especially melons, peas and tomatoes. The Nansemond potato has long 
been celebrated for its superior quality. A large proportion of the land 
is devoted to trucking. This and peanut raising are the most profitable 
industries of the county. Fish and oysters are abundant; also water fowls, 
such as ducks, geese and swans. 

A great abundance of marl of superior quality is found, and much 
used on the lands. There is still some good timber in the county, such as 
pine, cypress and juniper, which find a ready and profitable market. Nan- 
semond river, in the middle and northern portion, and Blackwater and its 
tributaries, in the southern and western parts, afford ample water supply 
and drainage. 

In climate, health and water, this county compares favorably with 
other portions of this section of the State. Churches are numerous and 
largely attended; telephone service and mail facilities are all that could be 
desired; the rate of taxation is low; and altogether, this is one of the most 
prosperous counties in the State. 

Population, census of 1910, 26,886. 
Suffolk is the county seat. 

This county was formed in 1897 from Amherst, and 
lies on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, seventy- 
NELSON five miles west of Richmond. It is separated from 

Augusta on the northwest by the Blue Ridge moun- 
tains, and from Buckingham on the southeast by 
James river. It contains an area of 472 square miles. 

The surface is rolling, the soil generally is red clay, except on the 
rivers, which is dark alluvial, and very productive. Farm products are 
corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, buckwheat and the grasses, especially 
clover and timothy. 

This county is especially adapted to the growth of fruits and vege- 
tables of all kinds; indeed, it may be considered one of the best sections 
in the State for fruit. The Albemarle pippin, and the Pilot, another 
famous apple, and a native of this county, flourish here. Grapes also grow 
to perfection in this county, and have received increased attention the past 
few years, with gratifying results. There are several large vineyards in 
the county. Poultry is extensively and profitably raised. Of the various 
products of the county, however, tobacco is the chief money crop of the 
farmer. 

The mountain lands furnish fine pasturage; and horses, cattle and 
sheep especially, are raised here in large numbers for northern markets. 
Minerals are iron ore, both hematite and magnetic; copper, manga- 
nese, lead, asbestos, kaolin and soapstone; of which iron, copper and 
manganese have been worked to a considerable extent. Four companies 
are working up soapstone into wash-tubs, etc., and they cannot supply the 
demand from New York and Philadelphia alone. Chalybeate and sulphur 
waters are found in various parts. 
Lovingston, the county seat. 
Population of county, census of 1910, 16,821. 

This county was formed from York in 1654. 
It lies nine miles east of Richmond, between 
NEW KENT the Pamunkey and the Chickahominy rivers. It 

is twenty-six miles long and from seven to nine 
miles wide, and contains an area of 233 square 
miles. The surface is generally level, but is undulating in parts. The soil in 



Hand Booh of Virginia 139 



the interior is light and sandy; on the river bottom a stiff clay or loam; 
the latter are very extensive and exceedingly fertile. Farm products are 
corn, wheat, oats, early vegetables, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes, for 
the last of which the soil is specially adapted; also red clover, vetch, rape, 
and other valuable grasses grow here to perfection. 

Poultry and trucking are important products; perhaps the most im- 
portant in the county. Horses, cattle and sheep do well; especially the 
last. These can get green food the year round, except a few days when 
there is snow, which is soon gone. 

Marl is abundant, and of excellent quality. The timber consists of 
oak, hickory, maple, pine, cypress, ash, gum, etc. Much cord-wood and 
ship timber is annually marketed from this county. 
Population, census of 1910, 4,682. 

This county is noted as having been the marriage place of George 
Washington. 

New Kent Courthouse, the county seat. 

This county, from the earliest days, has figured con- 
spicuously in history. Its present condition is the 
NORFOLK interesting theme of this accurate presentation. It 

is one of the richest in agricultural production, in 
general and varied resources. It is one of the most 
progressive, and the most populous of the counties. It is the local figure 
in the State's activities. 

In spite of constant diminution in area through annexation of terri- 
tory to the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, it has suffered but little loss 
in assessments. 

In 1910 the population of Norfolk county was 52,744. No section of 
the entire country presents a fairer prospect of profit through intensive 
farming. 

The influence of the Gulf stream so tempers the rigors of winter and 
prolongs the season of production, that as many as four crops are raised 
annually from the same ground. The soil is a semi-sandy loam, rendering 
cultivation easy, and insuring prompt benefits from fertilizer application, 
thus forcing growth and early shipments to the great populous trade 
centers. 

Trucking is a commercial business, requiring the highest order of 
intelligence and industry, and experience during a series of years has 
amply proven its profitable character. Rapid transportation is the great 
factor in its enlargement, since Long Island cannot supply fresher green- 
stuff to the New York market than can the Old Dominion steamers and 
our railroads, which land their freight fifteen hours after leaving our fields. 
Immense local plants supply the millions of packages and the thou- 
sands of tons of fertilizers; laborers in large numbers earn big wages; 
general business is sustained; bank deposits are swelled to great propor- 
tions, the whole bringing prosperity to more people than does any one 
other industry in the State. All of this will be multiplied many times when 
intensive farming is more widely practiced. 

The experience of one man in Norfolk county is strikingly illustrative 
of what is possible along this line of agriculture. On two and one-half 
acres he raised a few of the more choice and delicate vegetables in cold 
frames, and sold them in the local market in advance of regular produc- 
tion; he netted $6,050. 

Norfolk city, one of Virginia's principal cities, is situated in this county. 
This county was originally a portion of Accomac, 
and occupies the southern portion of the East- 
NORTHAMPTON ern Shore peninsula. It is located in the ex- 

lieme eastern part of the State, seventy-eight 
miles from Richmond, with the Atlantic ocean 
on the east, the Chesapeake bay on the west, and Accomac county on the 



Hand Booh of Virginia 141 

north. Thirty miles long, with an average width of five miles, it contains 
an area of 232 square miles. 

The surface is level, the soil light sandy, with clay subsoil, very easily 
improved. Farm products are sweet and Irish potatoes, corn, rye and 
grasses, especially clover. Fruits do well, especially apples, and the 
smaller fruits, berries, etc. It is especially adapted to the growth of vege- 
tables of all kinds, ranking first in the State for the yield of onions per 
acre. Trucking is carried on to a large extent; the lands are especially 
adapted to this industry, and are scarcely excelled in this particular in the 
State. The most important and profitable products of the county, how- 
ever, are Irish and sweet potatoes. Last year the growers were favored 
with an abundant crop of both, and at remunerative prices; and it will 
long be remembered as the best and most prosperous year within the recol- 
lection of the people. 

The numerous rivers, bays and inlets with which its shores are in- 
dented, contain fish and oysters in great quantities, variety, and of superior 
excellence, forming a source of cheap and luxurious living, and large reve- 
nues to the inhabitants. Water fowls are also abundant, and a source of 
much profit and sport to the huntsman. 

The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk railroad passes through the 
center of the county for twenty miles, terminating at Cape Charles City, 
on the Chesapeake bay, from which point a steam tug and barge line con- 
nects with Norfolk, thus affording excellent transportation facilities to the 
markets, north and south. 

Population, census of 1910, 16,672. 

This county was formed in 1648. It is one of 
the five counties constituting the Northern 
?;OKTHUMBERLAND Neck, and lies at the mouth of the Potomac 
river, on the Chesapeake bay, sixty miles north- 
east from Richmond. 

It is twenty-five miles long and seven to eight miles wide, and con- 
tains an area of 235 square miles. About forty per cent, of the area is in 
cultivation. Surface is level, soil rich and alluvial on the streams; on the 
uplands, light and sandy, and easily improved. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, sweet and Irish potatoes. 
Clover does well, and the raising of clover seed has assumed considerable 
proportions. Garden vegetables and fruits of all kinds, and of the best, 
are produced. Fowls and eggs in great abundance are marketed. The 
trucking interest is largely on the increase. 

There are some very good breeds of stock kept, and conditions are 
improving yearly in this respect. 

This county is scarcely second to any in the State in the extent and 
value cf its fisheries and oyster beds, and water fowls abound in great 
abundance. The fishing season lasts about half the year, employing a large 
number of men and vessels. There are many large and important fish 
factories in operation in the county engaged in the manufacture of fish-oil 
and fish fertilizers (commonly known as fish chum), and this industry 
ranks as the most profitable in the county. Other enterprises are oyster 
packing plants, canneries, sawmills, planing mills, etc. Unparalleled com- 
mercial facilities exist on account of its numerous navigable waters with 
coast-line and inland lines of steamers connecting with Baltimore, Wash- 
ington, Alexandria and Norfolk, affording excellent market advantages for 
its products — melons, fresh vegetables, oysters, fish, wild fowls and poultry. 

The most vauable timbers are oak, pine, poplar and chestnut, con- 
siderably depleted, but still yielding quantities of cord-wood, railroad ties, 
ship- timber, etc. Poplar chiefly is exported. 

Population, census of 1910, 10,777. 

Heathsville, the county seat. 







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Band Booh of Virginia 143 



This county was formed in 1788 from Amelia, and 
is located in the south-central part of the State, thirty 
NOTTOWAY miles southwest from Richmond. It is twenty-five 

miles long by about twelve miles in width, and has 
an area of 304 square miles. Average size of farms, 
eighty-five acres. 

Lands iu this county are low. Many valuable tracts can be bought 
at a very reasonable price. The surface is rolling and soil a clay loam. 
Principal farm products are wheat, corn, oats and tobacco, especially 
the latter, of which the yield is very large and of excellent quality. 

Railroads are the Norfolk and Western and the Southern, which in- 
tersect at Burkeville, and furnish convenient transportation facilities for 
the products of the county. Minerals arc kaolin, mica, granite and soap- 
stone, but undeveloped. There are five banks in the county. 

The most valuable timbers are pine, oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, 
chestnut, cedar and ash. 

Ample water supply and drainage is furnished by the Nottoway and 
Little Nottoway rivers, and numerous creeks, tributaries of the Appo- 
mattox, on which are situated flour mills and sawmills. 

Public schools and churches abound; there are three high schools. 
Population, census of 1910, 13,462. 

Nottoway, the county seat, is located near the center of the county, 
on the Norfolk and Western railroad. Population, 175. It has a grist 
mill, public graded school, private school, fraternal order, and excellent 
water power. Other towns are Burkeville, Crewe and Blackstone. 

This county was formed from Spotsylvania in 1764. 
It is situated in the Piedmont section, sixty miles 
ORANGE northeast from Richmond. Its greatest length is 

thirty-eight miles, and width ranges from five to 
fourteen miles, containing an area of 349 square 
miles. 

The surface in the eastern part is undulating and hilly; mountainous 
to some extent in the central and western portions, with about one-third of 
the area in cultivation, of which the greater portion is of excellent quality. 
The soil is a dark red clay, producing large crops of grain, grass and some 
tobacco. 

This is a fine grass-growing and grazing county, and as a result, the 
rearins? of cattle and sheep, of good quality, is extensively carried on; and 
for sheep especially it is perhaps second to none outside of the blue grass 
region. 

This county is peculiarly adapted to the growing of apples, cherries, 
grapes, and all the standard varieties of fruit. The raising of small fruits, 
especially, is a rapidly-increasing and profitable industry. Large areas are 
being appropriated to vineyards, and large quantities of grapes are annually 
shipped to the northern markets. Fruit growing and stock raising rank as 
the most profitable industries of the county. 

The Southern, Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Fredericksburg railways 
afford excellent transportation facilities to all parts of the county. 

Minerals are iron, gold, asbestos, fire clay, marble and limestone, some 
of which have been successfully worked. 
Population, census of 1910, 13,486. 

Orange, the county seat, is located in the west-central part of the 
county, eighty miles northwest from Richmond, and is the center of the 
railroad system of the county. 

This county was formed in 1831 from Shenandoah 
and Rockingham, and constitutes a nart of the rich 
PAGE and beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. It is situ- 

ated in the northern part of tiie State, ninety miles 
northwest from Richmond. The whole county is a 
valley thirty miles in length, and about eleven miles in width, with the' 



144 Department of Agriculture 

Blue Ridge for its eastern and tlie Massanutten mountains as western 
boundaries. The Shenandoah river extends through its entire length, and 
the county contains an area of 317 square miles. 

The surface is gently undulating, and the soil a rich limestone of 
great fertility, yielding large crops of wheat, corn, oats, rye, and the 
grasses. Grazing facilities, especially in the Blue Ridge section, are ex- 
cellent, and horses, cattle and sheep are extensively grown. Fruits and 
vegetables do well. Dairy and poultry products are considerable and a 
source of much profit. 

The Shenandoah valley division of the Norfolk and Western railroad 
passes through the center of the county its entire length, affording to all 
sections convenient transportation facilities north and south. 

Situated within five hours' run of Baltimore and Washington, these 
cities afford excellent markets, though much of the poultry, dairy and 
vegetable products find a home market in the hotels, boarding houses, tan- 
neries and other enterprises. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 14,147. 

Luray, the county seat, is a beautiful town, situated on the Shenan- 
doah valley division of the Norfolk and Western railroad, and in the cen- 
ter of the rich and beautiful Page valley. It has macadamized streets and 
paved sidewalks, numerous schools, churches and fraternal orders, two 
newspapers and two banks — in a very prosperous condition. The tannery 
and bark works located here are large and successful enterprises. The 
water works and gas plant recently installed have given new life and enter- 
prise to the town. The noted Luray Caverns, which annually attract thou- 
sands of visitors, are one mile distant from the town. Luray is becoming 
a very popular summer resort, with its splendid hotel accommodations. 
Its wonderful caverns have a national reputation. 

This county was formed from Henry in 1781. It is 
situated in the southwestern portion of Virginia, 158 

PATRICK miles southwest from Richmond, air line, and is the 

most western county of the State south of the Blue 
Ridge, which forms its western boundary. It con- 
tains an area of 489 square miles. The surface is hilly and mountainous 
in the western part, with fine bottom lands along the numerous streams. 
The soil varies from sandy to a red loam, and is productive. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco and the grasses. In 
the southern half of the county, along the North Carolina line and the 
portion adjoining Henry county, is the fine tobacco belt. About half of 
the county is really in the famous Blue Ridge section, well adapted to 
grain, grass and cattle, especially the northern portion on the "Meadows of 
Dan"^ — a beautiful plateau on and near the top of the Blue Ridge. Stock 
raising is a considerable industry, and with proper attention could be 
made very profitable. 

This is an exceptionally fine county for fruit. The soil and climate are 
peculiarly adapted to its growth, and the people, realizing these advant- 
ages, are turning their attention largely to its culture. To those who are 
interested in this industry, Patrick offers inducements second to none in 
the State. Lands are cheap, and apples grown here have taken first honors 
for size, color and fiavor wherever exhibited. There are thousands of 
acres of first-class lands in the county, notably on the face and the foothills 
of the Blue Ridge, and in the rich coves, that are unexcelled for apples and 
fruit of all kinds. 

Stuart, the county seat. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 17,195, 



Hand. Boole of Virginia 14:5 



This county was formed in 1767 from Halifax, 
and is the central southern county of the State, 
PITTSYLVANIA 110 miles southwest from Richmond, and bor- 

dering the North Carolina line. It is thirty-five 
miles long and about twenty-five miles wide, 
and is the second largest county in area in the State, containing 98 6 square 
miles. 

Numerous farms in the county have been sold to northern buyers at 
good prices. The surface is generally rolling and hilly, with some low 
mountains, but a very large area of fertile bottom lands along the streams. 
The soil is varied in character and adaptable for the cultivation of almost 
every known crop of the latitude. The soil of the uplands is light, gray 
and gravelly, producing an immense quantity of the finest bright yellow 
tobacco, nearly doubling in quantity any other county in the State, and 
totaling over 17,000,000 pounds by last census, and constituting the money 
crop of the county. The soil of the lowlands along the streams varies from 
a stiff red to a sandy character, and is very fertile, producing fine crops of 
corn, wheat, oats, rye and grass. Fruits and vegetables of all kinds com- 
mon to other sections of the State are grown to great perfection, and, to- 
gether with the dairy products, peanuts, etc., are sources of considerable 
revenue to the farmer. 

Market advantages are excellent, supplied by its convenient railroad 
facilities and the large demand at Danville, its manufacturing city. 

For stock raising, it is principally noted for its large number of mules 
and very recently lands have been purchased in the county by parties from 
without' for the purpose of stocking them with high-bred horses. Stock 
raising presents an inviting field of operation in this county, all the condi- 
tions being favorable to it. 

This county has excellent railroad facilities, having connection with 
Richmond, Lynchburg. Martinsville, Greensboro and Norfolk, through its 
various lines— the Atlantic and Danville, Danville and Western, and the 
Southern and its branches. 

Telephone service and mail facilities are first-class. Much attention is 
given to road improvements and bridges, and as a result, the county has 
most excellent roads. Progress and improvement is apparent in all lines 
of agriculture and business. The financial condition of the county is good. 
The population of the county (independent of Danville), census of 
1910, is 50,709, making it second in the State in population. 

Chatham, the county seat, situated on the Southern railway, is a thriv- 
ing town of considerable importance. 

This county was formed in 1777 from Cumber- 
land. It is located in the central portion of 
POWHATAN the State, twenty miles west of Richmond, the 

James river forming its northern and Appo- 
matox river its southern boundary. 
It is twenty-five miles long and about fifteen miles wide, and contains 
an area of 28 4 square miles, one-third of which is under cultivation. 

The surface back from the streams is gently undulating. The soil of 
the county varies from a light gray to a stiff red clay, and is fairly fertile, 
especially on the rivers. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, tobacco, oats and hay, tobacco being 
the principal money crop. All the grasses do well here, but those princi- 
pally grown are clover, timothy, herds grass, millet and orchard grass. 

" This is one of the finest apple counties in Middle Virginia, and peaches, 
pears, plums, grapes, berries, melons and other fruits do well s:nd are but 
little subject from damage from insects. 
Population, census of 1910, 6,099. 
Powhatan, the county seat. 




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Hand BooTc of Virginia 147 



This county was formed in 1753 from Amelia, 
and is situated in the south-central part of the 
PRINCE EDWARD State, sixty miles southwest from Richmond. 
It is twenty-five miles long and about twelve 
miles wide, and contains an area of 345 square 
miles (one-third of which is in cultivation). The surface is rolling; soil, 
varied; gray loam, red and chocolate loams, or sandy; generally produc- 
tive and well adapted to the various farm products. Tobacco yields from 
300 to 1,000 pounds per acre; wheat, eight to thirty bushels; corn, ten to 
fifty bushels; oats, ten to fifty bushels; potatoes, fifty to 300 bushels; and 
all forage crops, especially the legumes, are produced. The grasses — 
clover, timothy, red top, or herd's grass — are also profitably grown. This 
is not a natural grazing section save for sheep, and in that particular it 
ranks well. All the fruits and vegetables common to Virginia do well here. 

Churches of all Protestant denominations are ample for the popula- 
tion. Educational advantages are very superior — with Hampden-Sidney 
College, the State Female Normal, and a fine system of public free schools. 
Mail facilities ample. Telephone service now well organized and very 
useful. 

Population, census of 1910, 14,266. 

Farmville, the principal town and county seat. It is a thriving town of 
4,000 inhabitants, and a place of considerable importance as a tobacco 
manufacturing center, being the fifth largest in the State, and an educa- 
tional center. 

The State Female Normal School is located here, and Hampden-Sidney 
College, six miles distant, reached by a good macadamized road, both 
thrifty and popular. 

The Farmville Lithia Springs are noted for the curative properties of 
their waters, which are shipped to all parts of this and foreign countries. 

This county was formed in 1702 from Charles 
City, and is located in the eastern portion of the 
PRINCE GEORGE State, seventeen miles southeast from Rich- 
mond, on the south bank of the .James river, 
which separates it from its mother county. It 
is triangular in shape, and contains an area of 302 square miles. 

The surface is generally level. Soil, sandy loam and clay subsoil, gen- 
erally thin, though there are extensive tracts of valuable alluvial lands on 
the rivers. 

Farm products are corn, cotton, peanuts, tobacco, wheat, oats and the 
grasses, the light warm lands of the southern portion being best adapted 
to the peanut and cotton industries. The lands are well adapted to pears, 
peaches, plums, quinces and grapes, and berries, both wild and cultivated, 
are abundant. The section adjacent to the river landings and Peters- 
burg are cultivated largely in trucking. Fish are abundant in the inland 
ponds and .James and Appomattox rivers; and the marshes furnish water 
fowl of the choicest varieties. 

Grazing facilities and the production of improved grasses is consider- 
able, and live stock of all kinds do well. Transportation facilities, supplied 
by the navigable rivers ("the James and Appomattox), and the Norfolk and 
Western railway and Atlantic Coast Line, are ample, and convenient to all 
parts of the county, affording easy access to the local and the northern and 
southern markets. 

Marl of various sorts is abundant, and has been extensively used with 
good results. Fine white sandstone and valuable clays of several kinds 
have been developed to some extent. Timbers are pine, poplar, oak, walnut, 
gum, persimmon and other hard and soft woods, much of which is shipped 
north. 

Population, census of 1910, 7,848. 

Prince George Courthouse, the county seat, 



148 Department of Agriculture 

This county was formed in 1691 from Norfolk 
county, and lies in the extreme southeast cor- 

PRINCESS ANNE ner of the State, 110 miles southeast of Rich- 
mond. It contains an area of 28 5 square miles, 
one-half under cultivation. 

The surface is level, soil dark loam, marshy and sandy in some sec- 
tions — with red clay subsoil, easily tilled and generally productive, espe- 
cially the swamp lands in Holland swamp, Eastern Shore swamp and Black- 
water. There are also some fine lands on the borders of the creeks and 
inlets. Farm products are corn, oats, potatoes and trucks. 

The people are very extensively engaged in the latter, and large quan- 
tities of vegetables and fruits are annually shipped to the northern markets. 
For general trucks this is one of the finest sections of the State, especially 
the Pungo district. This county is noted for its fish — notably the catches in 
Back bay — and oysters of unequalled quality; and wild fowls of great 
variety are found in large quantities, the shipments of which produce large 
revenues to its citizens. 

Nature has been exceedingly lavish to this county in the bestowal of 
natural products, not only in large extent, but of superior quality. This is 
the home of the renowned Lynnhaven oysters and canvas-back ducks and 
other water fowls; the latter being in such abundance as to make gunning 
at certain seasons quite a profitable industry. Stock raising is principally 
restricted to the raising of cows for dairy and family purposes, although 
many stock cattle are fed. There are two dairies in the county. Consider- 
able attention is paid also to hogs. 

Transportation facilities are ample and convenient to all sections of 
the county, consisting of Norfolk and Wesetrn and Southern railways 
through center, with branch extending south; also the Albermarle canal 
along the southern border, and numerous navigable bays and rivers, be- 
sides an ocean front of over twenty miles. These afford very superior 
market advantages. 

Virginia Beach, a famous and attractive summer resort on the Atlantic 
shore, is in this county. It is connected with Norfolk by rail, and largely 
patronized. The timber consists of pine, cypress, oak, gum, cedar, elm, 
etc., and most abundant in the northeast portion of the county. North 
river, running south, and the various sounds, bays and creeks afford ample 
water supply and drainage. Numerous sawmills are in operation in the 
county. Barrels, boxes and crates are manufactured; also large quantities 
of cypress shingles. 

The climate is temperate, health fairly good, and water fine in most 
sections. Churches and schools are numerous and conveniently distributed. 
The county is well supplied with telephone communication, and mail facili- 
ties are good. 

Population, census of 1910, 11,526. 

Princess Anne, the county seat. 

This county was formed in 1730 from Stafford 

and King George. It is located in the northeast 

PRINCE WILLIAM portion of the State, seventy miles air line 

north from Richmond, and within about thirty 

miles from Washington, D. C, and extends 

from the Bull Run mountains on the north to the Potomac river on the 

south. It contains an area of 3 53 square miles. 

The lands of this section under a proper system of cultivation can be 
made quite productive, and will undoubtedly increase in value and import- 
ance, owing to their close proximity to the National Capital- The surface 
is rolling, soil freestone and generally good. Some portions of the county 
contain as fine lands as are to be found anywhere in the State. 

The principal farm products are corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, live 
Stock, poultry and fruit. Average yield per acre: corn, forty bushels; 



Hand Booh of Virginia 149 

wheat, thirty-two bushels; oats, twenty bushels; rye, twelve bushels; 
potatoes, 100 bushels; and hay two tons. 

In the upper or northern end of the county, there are some fine blue 
grass lands, splendidly adapted to grazing and stock raising; hence cattle 
and sheep are raised in large numbers for the northern markets, and 
horses of all breeds, from draft horses to hunters and racers. Fruit of all 
kinds succeed well, and their culture is receiving increased attention. 
Grapes have been found to do well, and quite a large acreage is devoted 
to the vine in different sections. 

Dairy 'products pay well, there being special facilities afforded by 
the Southern railway for placing the milk from stations in this section 
on the Washington market. Poultry raising has increased largely during 
the past few years, and is a profitable industry; in fact, the production of 
any food supplies for the Washington market brings good returns. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, 12,026. 

Manassas, the county seat, is situated at the junction of the main 
line of the Southern railway with the branch that extends westward 
through the Shenandoah valley. It is thirty-three miles southwest of 
Washington and is a trading center for a productive, populous section 
of the county. There are numerous churches and public and private 
schools, two banks, newspaper. Eastern College, state Agricultural and 
Normal School, fraternal orders and a large number of business houses. 
There are many fine residences both at Manassas and in the surrounding 
country, which is very picturesque and attractive. Quite a number of peo- 
ple from the North have located in this section within the past few years. 
Only a few miles distant from Manassas is the Bull Run battlefield, on 
which were fought two of the fiercest battles of the Civil War. Other 
towns of the county are Occoquan, Dumfries, Brentsville and Potomac. 

This county was formed in 183 9 from Montgomery 

and Wythe, and named in honor of Count Pulaski, a 

PULASKI hero of the Revolution. It is situated in the great 

Southwest valley, 200 miles, air line, southwest from 

Richmond. It is twenty-three miles long from north 

to south; twenty miles wide from east to west, and contains an area of 245 

square miles, one-half under cultivation. Surface level and rolling, and in 

some parts mountainous. The soil is rich and very productive. 

Wheat and corn are the staple grain crops, the average yield of which 
is fifteen to twenty-five bushels of wheat per acre, and from thirty-five to 
fifty bushels of corn per acre; also oats, rye and millet are grown to a con- 
siderable extent. The soil is well adapted to the artificial grasses, and 
immense quantities of fine hay are annually produced; but the greatest 
agricultural wealth of this county consists in its splendid grazing facilities, 
being the natural home of what is termed the Kentucky blue grass. It is 
unsurpassed in this respect by any county in the State for the territory 
embraced. 

The quality of cattle produced is very fine — equal to any in the United 
States — and the annual shipments are very large, the great proportion 
being sold for export to the English markets, and that sold in the Balti- 
more markets conceded to be unsurpassed and commanding top prices. 
Much attention is paid by the leading agriculturists of the county to the 
introduction of superior breeds of cattle; also of horses, sheep and hogs, 
of which they make fine exhibits at their annual county fair. Large num- 
bers of fine riding and driving horses are found in this county, and the 
lamb and wool product is very extensive. 

All the fruits of this latitude, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, 
quinces and the smaller fruits, grow to great perfection here, and this 
industry is growing very rapidly in interest and importance. The dairy 
products and early vegetables find a ready market at the home towns, 
and are a source of considerable revenue to the people. Other market 



Sand Booh of Virginia 15i 

advantages are the numerous furnaces and mines of the county that 
take a large proportion of the farmers' surplus, and at good prices. 

Noted as this county is for its great agricultural resources, it is no 
less so for its mineral wealth. Though small in the extent of its territory 
in comparison with other counties of this section, Pulaski is making a 
wide and favorable reputation in this respect — its mineral development 
in the past few years probably equaling any county of the State. Within 
its boundaries are found iron and coal in extensive deposits; also zinc, lead, 
manganese, millstone, grindstone and whetstone rock of superior CLuality, 
and fine building stone, both in the limes and sandstone, the latter un- 
excelled in quantity and quality. 

The climate is dry, invigorating and comparatively mild. The ele- 
vation being 1,800 to 2,000 feet above sea level, the atmosphere is pure 
and free from malaria, rendering it exceedingly healthful. Water, very 
fine, principally limestone, though freestone water is found in some 
sections. 

There are several mineral springs containing alum, lithia and iron, 
the most noted of which is Hunter's Alum Springs, near Little Walker's 
creek, eight and a half miles from Pulaski, which has had a growing 
reputation among the sick dating back fifty years. 

Population of county, over 17,246. Pulaski, the chief town and 
county seat, 5,000 inhabitants. 

This county was formed in 1831 from Culpeper, 
and is located in the northern portion of the 
RAPPAHANNOCK State, 100 miles northwest from Richmond, and 
contains an area of 2 64 square miles — 850 
farms, average size farms 195 acres. 

The surface is undulating, soil generally fertile and produces fine 
crops of corn, wheat, oats, tobacco, rye and buckwheat. The soil and 
climate are especially adapted to the growth of fruit, and all kinds suc- 
ceed well. 

There are large areas of fine grazing lands in the county, and fat 
cattle, sheep and hogs, in large numbers, are annually shipped to the 
eastern markets. 

Kaolin and iron have been found, but as yet are undeveloped. Tim- 
bers are oak, chestnut, pine, hickory, poplar and walnut, and are of good 
quality and of considerable quantity, especially along the line of the Blue 
Ridge mountains. Owing to inconvenient transportation facilities, very 
little timber is shipped from the county, but is manufactured into lumber 
by the numerous sawmills in operation. The mountain sections furnish 
large quantities of tanbark for market and local tanneries. 

The county is well watered by the headwaters of the Rappahannock 
river, which also affords most excellent water power. In climate, health 
and water it is everything that could be desired. 

Society is excellent, and all sections of the county well supplied with 
churches and schools. Mail facilities are ample, and as transportation of 
the products of the county is wholly by wagons, considerable attention is 
paid to the turnpikes and other public roads, which are kept in better con- 
dition than most counties with as broken surface; and although without 
railroad facilities, this fine county offers great inducements to settlers on 
its fertile lands, and the grazing is practically convenient to the Baltimore, 
Washington and Georgetown markets. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 8,944. 

Washington, the county seat, is located near the center of the county, 
twenty-six miles from Culpepper, on the Southern Railway, and eighteen 
miles from Kimball, on the Norfolk and Western railroad, with which place 
it has daily mail communication. 

Population, census of 1910, 300; increase since last census, forty-eight. 



152 Department of Agriculture 

This county was formed in 1692 from old Rappahan- 
nock. It is situated fifty miles southeast from Rich- 

RICHMOND mond in the section known as the Northern Neck. 

KlC^MMUiM^ It is thirty miles long by about seven miles m width 

and contains an area of 188 square miles, one-third 
in cultivation. Surface undulating; soil a sandy loam with clay subsoil, 

^"' ^F'^m'produTts'a^iTf^rSrn, rye, oats, peas, potatoes, fruits and 
vPsetablS and grasses of various kinds. Trucking is of considerable 
Srtanc; and largely on the increase. The most important and profit- 
S nroducts of thi co^^ are the fish and oysters, in which its streams 
aboundin arge quantitiel and of superior quality. Game ^b ab^a^^^J^ 
^nd water fowl of choice varieties. Grazing facilities are fairly good. The 
usuaT farm stock-horses, cattle, hogs and sheep-are grown, the latter 

^^^^^h^re^^r Jr'ra^lro^dttt^ wat^^navigation is convenient via the 

-?iSSef ^aS^.^f :S ^llT^ ^^agy^f :?strr?o 

^^^^'SS if ^oSt lar1e\tantmes\nd is used with good effect on the 
l.nd Tmbers consist of oak, hickory, chestnut, gum, ash, nipple pme 
lana. ■^i^"^7^-'^"'\,_ „.^p ^J.a o^k being converted into lumber by the 
dogwood and elm the P^^« ^J^J^ ^^^ Rappahannock river and numerous 

SSI n S^^si- -'^r^'i^ 1^3 

neries -inu f- ... j .(e^ good, churches convenient; and educa- 

?'r'', X^n akes consS oTFarfiham Academy and numerons public 
Xols Telephone service and mail facilities ample, and P'^M.c roads 
Sr'in .Jo??epalr. ™sconn^ shows considerahlep™^^^^^^^^^ 

rors:lL?rS^rmUd"'cZar.ertii?:o7.-easv of cultlvation-cheap 
anlf abundant living and convenient access to market. 

W^"'aT?ieTot;^^f sea""is'a"inland country vlUa.e, situated near 
the center of the -unty. ^slx m^es ^fj^om the nver.^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^_ 

ated west of the Blue Ridge mountains in the ta- 

ROANOKE mous Roanoke valley, 17 5 miles almost due west 

ROANOKE ^^o^ Richmond. It is twenty miles long and about 

fifteen miles wide, and contains an area of 297 square 

M.-+„-^o pt qalem 1 006 feet. The surface is undulating, being 

?''".'.. 4to vaneys and mountains, the latter principally on its boundaries. 

divided into valleys anu m ' fertile, especially the valleys. 

^''' TMs'fs'a splenX aSicXral county, producing large crops of all 

TDis IS ^ _^P;^ff \;i,pat corn oats, rye, hay, etc. This county has, 
the staple products-wheat c^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ 

m recent years ^^^^ f'^^^^e ^^io ^ell; such as apples, pears, peaches, 
which known ^o this clxmate do , ^^^.^^ Vegetables also 

plums, 2l%T'.VeaTextent^and Pe fection, which, together with peaches, 
are grown to great extent ^J'" ^^ ^^^igg ^y the various canning estab- 

berries. etc arePutupmla^^^^^^^ county, adjacent. The 

lishments loca*^^^J^„"'^.„''° created much interest in the county, and it 
apple <::^'X\ToToltCfov!n^^^^^ apple-growing counties in the State, 
is coming to be one ot ^ne o ^^^ United States. Large 

containing some of the large«\ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^p^ ^.^^^^ 
.shipments of aPPles are annual y ^^^ ^^ $1.5.000 for the 

from the orchards yield ng to the grower^^^^^ .^.^^,^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^.^^ 

S the'c'oal fieWs ?urSsh excellent markets for this and other farm, 
products. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 153 

Grazing facilities in this county, in common witti all others in this 
section of the State, are superior, especially in the blue grass section in 
this northern part. Cattle and sheep are raised extensively, and have 
direct and quick transportation via Shenandoah Valley railroad to the 
large markets besides supplying the local demand in Roanoke and Salem. 

Most excellent transportation facilities are furnished by the different 
lines of the Norfolk and Western system traversing the county, which 
include the main line east and west — the Shenandoah valley division lead- 
ing northeast to the great cities of that section, and the Roanoke and 
Southern south through the tobacco counties of the southern Piedmont and 
into North Carolina, and the new Virginian railroad, which runs the entire 
length of the county. 

Educational advantages are very superior. In addition to its ex- 
cellent public school system, there are male and female colleges of a high 
order, notably Roanoke College, located at Salem, and Hollins Institute, 
located six miles from the city of Roanoke, in a most beautiful and pic- 
turesque section, and Virginia College, for the education of women, on 
the outskirts of Roanoke. 

Peculation of the county (independent of Roanoke city), census 
of 1911, 19,623. 

The above is a good exhibit of growth in population, as part of the 
county has been annexed to Roanoke city since last census, and the 
population thereof included with that city in the recent census. 

Salem, the county seat, is situated near the center of the county, in 
the beautiful Roanoke valley, through which flows Roanoke river, and 
around which rise the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains. Lying 1,100 
feet above the sea. 

This county was formed from Augusta and 

Botetourt in 1778, and named from its great 

ROCKBRIDGE natural curiosity, the Natural Bridge. This is 

one of the great valley counties lying between 

the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains, 159 

miles due west from Richmond. It is thirty-one miles in length and 

twenty-two in width, and contains 5 93 square miles (about three-fourths 

in cultivation and pasturage). Average size farms, 150 acres. Farming 

lands have increased steadily in value. 

The surface is rolling and in parts mountainous, especially on the 
eastern and western borders. The soil is chiefly limestone, very fertile 
and highly improved, especially in the central portion of the county. 
Like all the valley counties, this is a rich agricultural and pastoral county, 
producing fine crops of grain and all the cultivated grasses. Fruits of all 
kinds do well, and farm dairying and poultry raising are sources of con- 
siderable profit. This county has much very fine blue grass grazing lands, 
which render stock raising profitable and the chief farm industry. 

Transportation facilities are very superior, embracing the Chesa- 
peake and Ohio, the Baltimore and Ohio, and Norfolk and Western rail- 
roads. 

The mineral resources of this county are important and constitute 
one of its sources of wealth. Its various deposits include iron ore of 
exceptionally fine quality, tin ore, manganese, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, 
marble and limestone. Several of these have been developed and are 
being successfully worked. The mineral waters of this county are numer- 
ous, embracing the Rockbridge Alum, Wilson's White Sulphur and Rock- 
bridge Baths — all places of popular resort for health and pleasure. The 
Natural Bridge hotels furnish a large, popular resort. 

The scenery of Rockbridge is grand and picturesque, and the county 
contains several points of great interest to the traveler and pleasure- 
seeker, among which the most noted is the Natural Bridge, a natural 
rock arch 215 feet high and 100 feet wide, spanning Cedar creek, a small 









p. 














.ia^^^^. 




Hand Booh of Virginia 155 

mountain stream, ninety feet. It is famous as being one of tlie greatest 
natural curiosities in the world, of wJiicti Marshall said: "It is one of 
God's greate&t miracles in stoue." Other interesting points are Balcony 
l<'alls on the James, and Goshen Pass on North river. 

Timber is fairly abundant, of which the principal and most valu- 
able species are oak, pine, poplar, walnut, hickory and chestnut. This 
county is unusually well watered by the James river through its southern 
border. North river in the central portion, and by their very numerous 
tributaries, streams and springs, excellent water power is afforded (some 
of which is utilized), and good supplies of fish, especially of bass, are 
lound. The most imijortaut manufactories of the county are iron furnaces 
and lime kilns. There are also numerous grain and sawmills. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 21,171. 

Lexington, the county seat, is situated on North river, near the center 
of the county, surrounded by a beautiful and fertile country. It is a thriv- 
ing, growing and beautiful little city. It has excellent railroad facilities, 
being located on the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Valley division of the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It is lighted by electricity and has an 
ample supply of perfectly pure spring water supplied from wooded water- 
sheds. It has well paved streets, large public schools and school build- 
ings, beautiful churches (notably Grace Memorial church. Episcopal, which 
was erected in memory of General Robert E. Lee), three banks of large 
capital, two newspapers, several fraternal orders, a successful wholesale 
grocery, large flouring mill and woodworking plant. But perhaps Lexing- 
ton's most notable feature, and of which she is justly proud, are its two 
famous institutions of learning, the Virginia Military Institute and Wash- 
ington and Lee University — the former a State institution, founded in 
1839 and controlled by a board of visitors appointed by the Governor; 
the latter chartered in 1782 as Liberty Hall Academy, first endowed by 
Washington and later receiving the added lustre of the name of Robert E. 
Lee, its president for six years after the war. It is now a handsomely 
endowed, splendidly equipped and extensively patronized university. Lex- 
ington is also noted as the home of stonewall Jackson before the war, and 
of Robert E. Lee after the war, and is the burial place of both. 

Other towns of this county are Buena Vista, Glasgow, Goshen, Col- 
lierstown, Brownsburg, Raphine and Fairfield. 

This county was formed from Augusta in the 
year 1778 — 132 years ago — and is almost as 

ROCKINGHAM old as the Federal government, and lies west 

of the Blue Ridge mountains in the Shenandoah 
valley, about 130 miles northwest from Rich- 
mond. It borders on the State of West Virginia on the northwest, from 
which it is separated by the North or Shenandoah mountains. It contains 
an area of 870 square miles. This is one of the big and rich counties of 
the State. 

Its surface is rolling and mountainous on the southeast and north- 
west borders. The greater portion is valuable farm land and in culti- 
vation, very fertile, and as a grain-producing county it has no peer. In 
the production of wheat, and average yield per acre, it ranks probably 
as high as any county in the State. Its best farms have produced as high 
as forty-five bushels per acre, and twenty-five bushels is considered a fair 
average. Its yield of corn, rye and barley are in like proportion — the 
latter embracing nearly half the product of the State. Not only is this a 
notably fine grain-producing county, but it is peculiarly a grass and stock 
section, and this is perhaps the principal source of its great prosperity. 
Hay is grown in great abundance, and being a natural blue grass soil, 
large numbers of choice cattle, horses and hogs are annually shipped 
from this county to the northern markets. Some of Virginia's finest horses 
are reared in this county, and it is considered one of the largest and best 



156 Department of Agriculture 

horse markets in the State, having regular sale days at Harrisonburg, at 
which the sales have been known to aggregate in one day $25,000 to 
$30,000, principally to northern buyers. 

This is a very progressive county in the improvement of its high- 
ways, good buildings, and general appearance of thrift and prosperity. 
Financial condition of the county and people is excellent. Wealth is prob- 
ably more evenly distributed than any other county of the State. Its roads 
are among the best in Virginia, and furnish good and convenient highways 
to the various markets throughout the county. Its people are law-abiding, 
conservative, hospitable and progressive. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 34,903. 

Other towns are Bridgewater, Singer Glen, Timberville, Mount Craw- 
ford, McGaheyville, Dovesville, Keezeltown, Mount Clinton, Linville and 
Port Republic. 

As Rockingham ranks high among the counties of the State in point 
of area, so it claims a place near the head of the list in wealth, industry 
and progress. Forty-five years ago, owing to the ravages of war, it lay 
almost a barren waste; today, instead of lands and property devastated, 
plenty smiles on every hand, and but for the monuments of her heroes 
and history, no one would ever dream, when surveying its broad acres 
of waving grain and grass, that it had undergone the devastating influence 
of war. At the close of that war its citizens were impoverished, its finances 
depleted and there was a gloomy prospect for the future; but with that 
energy characteristic of her people, houses and barns soon again dotted the 
landscape; fields were fenced and planted, and since that time Rocking- 
ham has been taking a leading part in every line of material advancement. 
To the enterprising farmer, one who farms on a business basis, this county 
offers rare advantages; indeed, among the counties of the State none offers 
greater inducements to prospective settlers. 

Harrisonburg, the county seat, has a population of 5,000, and one 
of Virginia's most beautiful towns. 12,000 feet above sea level. The State 
Normal School for Women is situated here. 

This county was formed in 178 6 from Washington. 

It is situated in the southwestern portion of the State, 

RUSSELIi 37 miles southwest from Richmond, and bounded 

north by Buchanan and Dickenson, from which it is 

separated by a mountain range known as Sandy Ridge, 

south by Washington (Clinch mountain forming the dividing line), west by 

Scott and Wise, and east by Tazewell county. This is a large county, being 

forty miles long from east to west, and twenty miles wide from north to 

south, containing an area of 503 square miles. 

The surface to a considerable extent is broken. There are some 
very fertile sections in the valley and along the streams, producing fine 
crops of grain and grass, far exceeding the average in most of the coun- 
ties of the State. Especially is it noted for its extensive area of fine 
blue grass lands, upon which are raised large numbers of fine cattle that 
are annually shipped out to supply the export markets. 

The principal farm products are wheat, corn, oats, hay, rye and 
potatoes, that find a ready and remunerative market in the coal mining 
region near by. Fruits of all kinds common to this latitude do well, 
especially apples, peaches, grapes, etc. Fish, such as black bass, cat and 
red-eye, abound in large quantities in the Clinch and its tributaries. The 
grazing, and feeding not only of cattle, but of horses, sheep and hogs, is 
extensively carried on, and the quality and breeding is exceptionally fine. 
Stock raising, especially of cattle, is the principal industry of the county. 

Total population of county, census of 1910, 23,474. 



Hand Book of Virginia 157 



This county was formed in 1814 from Washington, 
Russell and Lee, and is situated in the extreme south- 

SCOTT west portion of the State, 3 50 miles from Richmond, 

its southern boundary being the State of Tennessee. 
It has a population, census of 1910, of 23814. It con- 
tains an area of 53 5 square miles, two-thirds of which is in cultivation. 
The surface is rather mountainous and hilly, although there are some 
fine farming and blue grass lands along Clinch river, which flows through 
the county from northwest to southwest, and on Holston river, in the 
southern part; and also a large amount of land in other sections, while 
not so smooth, is quite productive, yielding good crops of wheat, corn, 
rye, oats and buckwheat, especially the former two. It is especially noted 
for its large production of sorghum and maple surgar, also butter and 
other dairy products. There is a considerable area devoted to the culti- 
vation of fruit, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries and some 
"grapes. 

Grazing facilities are good and stock raising is an important and 
profitable industry, large numbers of cattle, sheep, horses and mules, of 
good grade, being marketed every year, and bringing into the county con- 
siderable revenue. 

This county is very rich in minerals, having an abundance of iron 
ore (red and brown), manganese, lead, coal, marble of various kinds 
and superior quality, barytes, fire clay and limestone. Some of these have 
been developed and mined to some extent. There is fine coal, both cannel 
and bituminous; zinc, lead, copper and gold, and mineralogists have pro- 
nounced Scott the richest in mineral resources of any county in the 
Appalachian system. Salt is also known to exist in the southeast cor- 
ner of the county, but to what extent is as yet undeveloped. There are 
several sulphur and chalybeate springs of known efficacy and reputation, 
the most important of which are the Holston Springs, on the Holston river, 
and Hagan's Springs, on Stanton's creek, in the northern part of the county. 
Considerable areas abound in valuable timber, such as walnut, oak of 
the various varieties, pine, ash, cedar, lind, hickory, birch, sycamore, elm, 
etc. The county is well watered by Clinch river and the north fork of the 
Holston and their tributaries and these streams afford unlimited water 
power for mills and manufacturing purposes. 

It is situated about 1,400 feet above sea level, and when it becomes 
generally known to the tourist, its perfectly beautiful and enchanting 
attractions will draw throngs of visitors. 

The climate of this county is equable, health uniformly good, and 
water excellent, large numbers of churches of the various denominations, 
fine public schools, good telephone service and mail facilities. Financial 
condition of the county first-class and on a cash basis; and in the matter 
of progress and general advancement, conditions are highly favorable — • 
as much so as adjoining sections. 

Gate City, the county seat, situated on a branch of the Holston river 
and on tbe ViT-Tjnian and Southwestern railroad, which extends from Bristol 
to Big Stone Gap, is an attractive town. 

This county, formed from Frederick in 1772, 
was originally called Dunmore, and name 
SHENANDOAH changed to Shenandoah in 1777. It lies in 

the northern part of the State 100 miles north- 
west from Richmond, and joins West Virginia. 
It contains an area of 48 6 square miles. The surface is rolling and moun- 
tainous in some parts, especially the eastern and western sections of 
the county. About one-half of the area is cleared and cultivated. The 
soil is mostly disintegrated limestone, very strong and durable, and a 
large proportion of the county is of the best class of bottom and valley 
lands of great beauty and fertility. It is also noted for the high state of 



158 Department of Agriculture 

cultivation which characterizes its improved lands, and is justly called, 
in connection with the other valley counties, the Garden Spot of Old 
Virginia. 

This county ranks as among the best grain counties of the State, 
especially for wheat, which is exported principally in the shape of flour, 
and has a high reputation; also corn, oats, and rye in large quantities 
are produced. The next and probably equally important industry of the 
county is stock raising, considerable attention being paid to the introduc- 
tion of improved grades of cattle, sheep, horses and hogs from Kentucky 
and elsewhere, and this industry is rendered the more profitable on account 
of the excellent grazing facilities in the blue grass uplands. 

Fruit culture is receiving much attention, and hundreds of thou- 
sands of trees have been planted within the last few years. The Strath- 
more Orchard Company has now 550 acres planted in fruit trees, and the 
North Shenandoah Fruit Company have thousands of trees in their ex- 
tensive orchards. Shenandoah ranks among the best fruit producing coun- 
ties in the State. The apples are of the best quality and command the 
highest price. 

Railroads are the Southern and Baltimore and Ohio, which afford 
ample transportation facilities to all sections of the county. 

Orkney Springs is a place of much resort for health by pleasure- 
seekers. The north fork of the Shenandoah river, traversing the county 
its entire length, with its tributaries, afford ample water supply and 
good water power for manufacturing purposes. The climate is temper- 
ate, healthful and invigorating, and the water excellent. Schools and 
churches are abundant, all denominations of the latter being represented. 
Telephone and mail service is extensive, affording ample facilities of com- 
munication with all parts of the county. 

Population, census of 1910, 20,942. 

Woodstock, the county seat, is located near the center of the county 
on the Manassas branch of the Southern railway. 

Other flourishing towns of the county are Edinburg, Mt. Jackson, 
New Market and Strasburg. 

This county was formed in 1831 from Washington 
and Wythe and is located in Southwestern Virginia, 

SMYTH 240 miles from Richmond. The Clinch range of moun- 
tains rises to a height of 4,000 to 4,500 feet above sea 
level. The Iron mountain rises in it« TVi-ifp Tot> anri 
Balsam peaks (in the southwest corner) to the magnificent height of 
5,540 and 5,730 feet, respectively, marking them as the highest in Vir- 
ginia. 

The county is thirty-two miles in its greatest length from north to 
south and twenty-two miles wide from east to west, and contains an area 
of 486 square miles. The surface is mainly hilly, and mountainous in parts. 
The valleys of the north, middle and south forks of the Holston river, 
including Rich Valley on the north side of Walker's mountain, and Rye 
Valley on the south side of the county, show all the fine features charac- 
teristic of the best lands of the Valley of Virginia. There is a large area of 
level or river bottom land lying along each of these rivers, affording allu- 
vial deposits of great depth and fertility, and capable of constant cropping 
without deterioration. The lands are mainly in the limestone area and 
yield largely of the various crops produced — corn, wheat, oats, rye, buck- 
wheat and hay. Cabbage is a verv remunerative crop, large quanti- 
ties of which are produced and shipped from the county to southern 
points and the coal fields every year. Dairy, orchard and vegetable pro- 
ducts are very considerable and are sources of much revenue to the 
farmers. Fish culture should become an important industry in this 
county. The streams are well adapted to game fish and are very well 
stocked with different varieties, such as bass, red-eye, chub, suckers, and 
some mountain trout. 



Hand Booh of Virginia 



159 



The most profitable branch of labor in this county is stock raising 
and grazing. The area of limestone or strictly grass lands probably 
embrace more than half the county. In Rich Valley, Saltville and other 
sections of the county are found thousands of acres of blue grass of 
indigenous growth, equaling in every respect the far-famed blue grass 
lands of Kentucky; and as a consequence large numbers of fine cattle are 
annually raised and exported. Much attention is paid to the grade of 
cattle, and this county can boast of having the largest herd of short- 
horn cattle in the State, and is also noted for its fine horses and sheep. 

This county possesses unusual importance on account of its great 
mineral wealth, the principal source is the immense deposits of salt 
and plaster at Saltville and vicinity. The latter is also developed and 
being mined in other sections of the county. These salt and plaster 




Southwest Virginia is a large producer of late cabbage and is convenient 
for shipment over the South and to Cuba. 

deposits are considered to be the most extensive and valuable to be 
found in the United States, immense quantities of each having been 
mined and manufactured for many years, bringing into the county a 
large annual revenue. There is also a large alkali plant at Saltville 
devoted to the manufacture of alkali, soda ash, bleaching powder, etc., 
erected at a cost of |3, 000, 000, and employing a large amount of labor. 
Besides the extensive alkali and salt works at Saltville there are 
other important manufactories in the county, such as iron furnaces and 
forges, woolen mills, tanneries, brick works, and the requisite num- 
ber of good grist and sawmills. In the three important elements and 
attractions to any county — climate, health and water — it will not be 



Hand Booh of Virginia 161 

amiss to say that this county equals any in the State. Churches repre- 
senting the different religious denominations are very numerous, and 
the public school system is kept up to a high state of efficiency. Tele- 
phone service reaches nearly all sections, and mail facilities are ex- 
tensive and all that could be desired. In all material, social and other 
respects, this may justly rank among the first of the counties of the 
southwest, or of the State, and very few sections of the United States 
deserve more favorable mention. Its increase in population shows that 
it is being appreciated. 

Population, census 1910, 20,326. 

Marion, the county seat, is a thriving, handsome town of consid- 
erable business. 

This county was formed in 1784 from Isle of Wight. 
It lies in the southeastern portion of the State, 
SOUTHAMPTON fifty miles from Richmond, thirty-six miles from 
Norfolk, and borders the State of North Carolina 
on the south. It contains an era of 60 square miles. 

The surface is level; soil a medium light and sandy loam, with 
clay subsoil, naturally very productive, especially the broad and fertile 
lowlands on the streams. 

Farm products are cotton, peanuts, corn, rye, oats, potatoes and 
some wheat. Southampton ranks above all the other counties of the 
State in the production of cotton, raising over 5,000 bales annually. 
Cotton gins of the most modern type are conveniently located in differ- 
ent parts of the county. Cotton and peanuts may be considered the 
most profitable products of the county, though large revenue is derived 
from other sources, notably truck, fruits and lumber. SoDie of the 
largest apple orchards of the State are found here, and other fruits, such 
as pears, peaches, grapes, plums, cherries and berries of all kinds are 
grown abundantly; also cranberries grow to great perfection on the 
alluvial bottoms. The soil and climate are admirably adapted to the 
raising of vegetables, and melons of the finest quality and flavor are 
produced. Sweet and Irish potatoes, and peas of every variety grow to 
great perfection and abundance. Many of the farmers are turning their 
attention to the cultivation of the grasses, which have been found to 
grow luxuriantly. 

Cattle do well, requiring little feed and attention during the winter 
months. Hogs are raised in large numbers, and a number of land own- 
ers are paying more attention to sheep husbandry, which is carried on 
very profitably by reason of the many fine grazing lands in different 
sections of the county. 

Population, census of 1910, 26,302. 

Courtland, the county seat, is located in the central portion of the 
county. 

Other towns in the county are Franklin, Boykins, Ivor, Drewryvjlle, 
Capron, Branchville and Newsoms. 

This county was formed in 1720 from Essex, King 
William and King and Queen, and is situated about 
SPOTSYIiVANIA forty-five miles (almost due north) from Rich- 
mond. It is twenty-five miles long from north to 
south, and seventeen miles wide from east to v/est, 
and contains an area of 401 square miles (about one-half cultivated).. 

The surface is rolling and the soil productive and varied in kind 
and quality, the uplands being a stiff clay, while that of the bottoms 
and valleys is a sandy loam, the latter' producing fine crops of corn and 
other products. Other products are wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, hay and to- 
bacco. Fruits, pears and grapes do well, also vegetables; and large quan- 
tities of both are sold in the Fredericksburg and other markets. Dairying 
and poultry raising have largely increased and are a source of consider- 



Hand BooJc of Virginia 163 



able revenue to the farmers in connection with general farming. Pish 
are abundant, and on the rivers are found the choicest of tidewater 
fowls, nd in the marshes sora, woodcock, etc. Considerable attention is 
given to improved breeds of horses, sheep and cattle, of which there are 
several fine herds of the latter in the county. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,935. 

Spotsylvania is the county seat. 

This county was formed from Westmoreland in 1765, and 

^ lies between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers in 

STAFFORD the northeastern portion of the State, sixty miles north 

from Richmond. It contains an area of 2.85 square 

miles, sixty per cent, of which is in cultivation. 

This surface is generally rolling; soil a sandy loam, naturally good, 
and with proper treatment capable of great improvement. Farm pro- 
ducts are wheat, corn, rye and oats, of which good crops are produced; 
also the grasses (clover and orchard grass) are successfully grown. The 
most profitable industries of the county are its fruit, vegetable and 
poultry products, which are extensive, and find ready sale in the nearby 
Washington and Fredericksburg markets. The pickling industry is 
especially important. 

Large fisheries on the Potomac and tributaries afford profitable em- 
ployment to labor and an important article of food supply to the people. 
Grazing facilities are fairly good, especially for sheep, and the rearing 
of early lambs for the Washington and Baltimore markets is a source 
of considerable revenue to the farmers. In addition to excellent water 
transportation facilities by the Potomac and its tributaries, the Rich- 
mond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad traverses the county north 
and south, affording choice of markets and convenient access to same. 

Population of county, census of 1910, 8,070. 

Stafford courthouse is the county seat. 

This county is one of the oldest counties in the State, 
having been formed from James City county in 1652. 

SURRY It lies on the south side of James river, thirty-five miles 
southeast from Richmond. It contains an area of 292 
square miles. 

The surface is generally level and soil light and sandy. Principal 
products are corn, wheat, oats and peanuts, especially the latter, large 
quantities of which are produced; and so well is the soil adapted to their 
growth that the lands on that accounft have very materially increased in 
value. 

This county is well supplied with railroad facilities, having the 
Atlantic and Danville passing up from the south near the center of the 
county to Claremont on the northwest border; the Surry, Sussex and 
Southampton railway, from its connection with the Norfolk and Western 
railway at Wakefield, on the southern border through the county to its 
water terminus on James river; the Norfolk and Western along its 
southwestern border, and eleven miles of the Surry Lumber Company's 
narrow gauge road connecting with the Atlantic and Danville railroad 
at Spring Grove. James river also affords extensive shipping facilities, 
daily steamers of various lines touching at its numerous wharves. 

Marl exists in great abundance, is very accessible, and it is utilized 
to some extent as a fertilizer. About two-thirds of the county is in 
timber, principally pine, oak, hickory, poplar, beech, walnut, cypress, 
holly and the gums, much of which is converted into lumber and fire- 
wood for northern markets. 

Population, census of 1910, 9,715. 

Surry, the county seat, is located in the northeastern part of the 
county on the Surry, Sussex and Southampton railway, five miles from 
James river, and fifty-five miles southeast from Richmond. 



Hand Bool: of Virginia 165 



This county, formed from Surry in 1754, is located 
in the southeast part of the State, thirty-five miles from 

SUSSEX Richmond. It contains an area of 490 square miles — 
313,600 acres, 930 farms; average size farms 22 5 acres. 
The surface is slightly rolling. Soil, light sandy loam, 
with clay sub-soil. 

Peanuts are the great money crop and great quantities are shipped, 
the yield varying from twenty-five to one hundred bushels per acre. Corn, 
oats, cotton, wheat, Irish and sweet potatoes are other principal crops 
in the order named. Apples, peaches, pears, grapes and small fruits 
yield abundantly. Clover, alfalfa and the grasses are being grown more 
largely every year, and on account of the long season, give heavy yields. 
The natural grasses are abundant and nutritious, and stock can graze in 
the fields the greater part of the year. 

Railroad and market facilities are excellent, furnished by the Norfolk 
and Western, Atlantic Coast Line and Southern railways, which traverse 
the northeast, southwest and southeastern portions, respectively. 

Marl is abundant, and is used to good effect. 

Pine is the principal timber, considerable quantities of which are 
converted into lumber. Blackwater river on the northeast border, and 
Nottoway river in the central portion, and their branches, furnish suffi- 
cient water supply and drainage. Climate mild, health and water good. 
Primary and high schools and churches of the different denominations 
are numerous and convenient. 

Population, census of 1910, 13,664. 

The county is principally agricultural, but Stony Creek and Jarratt 
on the Atlantic Coast Line, and Wakefield and Waverly, on the Norfolk 
and Western, are thriving towns, with good business houses, banks, high 
schools and roomy churches — Waverly the largest, with two sawmills, 
two stave mills, cannery, peanut factory, planing mill, electric lights and 
paved streets. Many northern and western people have settled near 
Waverly the past few years, among them many Germans. Land values 
are increasing rapidly, and it is only a question of a few years before 
this section will become a county of small farms, with land values as 
hgih as those in the north. 

This county was formed from Russell and Wythe in 1799. 
and is situated in the southwestern portion of the State, 
TAZEWELL about 325 miles southwest from Richmond. It is forty 
miles in length, with an average width of about eighteen 
miles, and contains an area of 557 square miles (about 
one-half being under cultivation). 

Much of the surface is mountainous, and lying between are many 
extensive and very fertile valleys. The soil is principally limestone, and 
very productive, and a striking peculiarity of this county is that the 
lands are generally fertile to the tops of the mountains, and don't wash. 
The lands are well adapted to the production of the various grains — 
corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., and the cultivated grasses, clover, timothy, 
orchard and herds grass. But while bountiful crops of grain and grass 
can be produced, the farmers prefer to preserve their fine blue grass 
sod and engage in the much less expensive and much more congenial and 
profitable occupation of grazing cattle, which is the leading industry of 
the county. Large numbers of cattle (unsurpassed in qualify) are an- 
nually sold from this county, a large proportion of, them for export pur- 
poses; also quantities of sheep of the finest grade, and no section of the 
State is better supplied with fine draft and saddle horses. 

Tazewell has perhaps the largest grazing capacity of any of the 
Southwest Virginia counties. With the exception of a part of the coal 
belt, perhaps three-fourths of its area is well adapted to agricultural 
and grazing purposes, and within that area there is a wealth of blue grass 



Hand Book of Virginia 167 



lands which are the admiration of all who see them. Even the lofty 
ridges and mountains to their summits are covered with a luxuriant 
growth of blue grass which is indigenous. Another very important ad- 
vantage, fitting it for grazing purposes, is that it is exceptionally well 
watered. 

Considerable attention is being paid to fruit culture, to which the 
county is well adapted. The dairy, vegetable and poultry products find 
a ready and remunerative market at the nearby coal mines. Game is 
abundant, and the streams, being well supplied with bass and other fish, 
furnish excellent sport. 

Tazewell is especially rich in minerals. 

Tazewell courthouse is county seat. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, 24,946. 

This county was formed in 183 6 from Frederick and 
Shenandoah, and is situated in the northern part of the 
WARREN State, nearly 100 miles, air line, northwest from Rich- 
mond. It lies on the western slope of the Blue Ridge 
mountains, which separate it from Rappahannock and 
Fauquier on the southeast, and Frederick on the north, Clarke on the 
northeast, Shenandoah west, and Page southwest. It is twenty miles 
long and twelve miles in width, containing an area of 22 6 square miles. 

The surface is rolling and mountanious in some portions. About 
fifty per cent, is in cultivation. The soil is limestone and very fertile, 
Farm products are wheat, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, potatoes and the 
grasses. 

The climate and soil are well adapted to the growing of fruits, and 
much care and attention is given to this industry, which is one of the 
most profitable in the county; grape culture, especially, has been exten- 
sively and successfully carried on for many years, and utilized in the 
manufacture of much fine wine. One of the oldest and largest vineyards 
of the South is located here. 

Considerable attention is paid to the raising of poultry. Fifty thou- 
sand ducks are sold annually from the largest duck farm in the world 
at Riverton. Stock raising ranks as one of the most important and 
profitable industries of the county. Large numbers of fat cattle are an- 
ually shipped to the northern and eastern markets. 

Population, census of 1910, 8,589. 

Front Royal, the county seat, is located at the junction of the Shen- 
andoah division of the Norfolk and Western, and the Manassas branch 
of the Southern railroad. It is one of the most prosperous and attractive 
towns in the Valley of the Shenandoah, and is noted for the hospitality 
and refinement of its people. Situated in the heart of one of the finest 
farming sections of the State, its commercial and manufacturing in- 
terests are varied and considerable. It has factories for making handles, 
collars, cigars; and also several large hotels, numerous business houses, 
educational institutions, public schools, newspapers, two banks, churches, 
and fraternal orders. It has macadamized streets, brick sidewalks and 
a good system of water works and electric lights. Educational institu- 
tions include Randolph-Macon Academy, under the supervision of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South — a school of fine standing, elegant 
buildings and complete faculty; Front Royal College, with four depart- 
ments, and a large high school building. 

This county, though now a small county in area and one 
of the smallest in the State in population, was one of the 
WARWICK original shires into which the State was divided in 
1634, and was named for the town of Warwick in Eng- 
land. It lies in a narrow strip along the northern shores 
of the James river entrance into the Chesapeake bay, and contains an 
area of 85 square miles. 



168 Department of Agriculture 

The surface is level, soil a sandy loam, fairly productive and easily 
cultivated and improved. The most profitable products are wheat, corn, 
oats, potatoes, etc., the average yield of w^hich is very good. Trucking, 
market gardening and poultry raising are growing in importance and 
value. Pish, oysters and wild fowl are abundant, the trade in which 
constitutes a very important feature of the business of the county. 

Railroads are the Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Newport News, 
Hampton and Old Point railways, the former traversing the county from 
northwest to southeast, and having its southeastern terminus at New- 
port News. 

Marl, the only mineral, is found in large quantities and of excellent 
quality. The timber supply is rather limited. Principal varieties are 
oak, pine, ash and gum, much of which is worked by the sawmills in 
operation in the county. The James and Warwick rivers afford ample 
drainage and excellent transportation facilities. Market advantages are 
excellent; the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hamp- 
ton furnish superior facilities in this respect. The climate is mild; 
health and water good. Churches are numerous, and the public schools 
in a flourishing condition. Telephone service and mail facilities are 
ample, and in progress and general advancement there has been great 
improvement in the county since the extension of the Chesapeake and 
Ohio railway to Newport News, in the southeast portion of the county. 

Population of the county (independent of the city of Newport News), 
census of 1910, 6,041. 

The wild animals of the county are deer, fox, raccoon, squirrel and 
hare. The water fowls of that region abound, besides which there are 
such game birds as wild turkeys, partridges, woodcock and sora, and 
the large proportion of water front creeks and inlets make the county 
exceedingly popular with sportsmen and fishermen. 

This county, formed January 28, 1776, from Fincastle, 
is situated in the southwestern portion of the State — 350 
WASHINGTON miles by rail, 240 air line, from Richmond. It is one 
of the largest counties in the Southwest, co'ntaining an 
area of 605 square miles. 
The surface is generally undulating, and mountainous in parts, 
especially on the northern and southern borders, though least moun- 
tainous of any of the Southwest counties. Its valleys are broad and 
present a beautiful picture in the alternation of hill and dale, of wood- 
land and pasture. Soil varies in character and quality, but all lie upon 
a stratum of yellow or red clay, very fertile and productive and wears 
well. The gray or gravelly soil is adapted to wheat, rye and tobacco, 
and the dark alluvial soil to corn and grass. The principal and most 
profitable farm products are wheat, corn, rye, oats, hay and tobacco, of 
which abundant crops are annually produced, though the tobacco produc- 
tion has fallen off from 2,000,000 pounds in 1889 to 500,000 in 1909. 
This is a superior grass-producing section, especially of clover, timothy 
and orchard grass, that yields largely, and much of which is grown. 
Tobacco is not as profitably grown as formerly. Fruits of the various 
kinds, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, grapes, etc., grow to per- 
fection and yield abundantly. Considerable revenue is derived from the 
poultry and egg products, which have a fine local market. The county 
abounding to a large extent in the spontaneous growth of blue grass, stock 
raising is the chosen and most profitable occupation of a large number 
of the most enterprising farmers of the county. 

Owing to the value of the salt wells in the Saltville basin it was 
made the dividing line between Washington and Smyt^i counties, so as to 
throw equal values of this great wealth into each of the counties, and 
it would be difficult to estimate the approximate quantity of the Saltville 
deposit assignable to Washington county; but it may be confidently as- 



Hand Book of Virginia 169 

serted that it has inexhaustible deposits of both salt and plaster close to 
the Washington-Smyth line, and dividing as it does with Smyth this 
valuable territory, a more specific description will suffice for both, which 
will be found in report of Smyth county. Mineral springs are numerous 
and valuable, embracing chalybeate, alum, magnesia and sulphur waters, 
the most noted of which are the Seven Springs, on the Saltville branch 
of the Norfolk and Western railroad, at which is made the famous 
"Seven Springs Iron and Alum Mass," of great efficacy in many forms 
of disease. Mongel's Springs, situated nine miles northwest of Abingdon, 
has a high local reputation for curative virtues, and with proper ac- 
commodations for visitors, should command a good patronage. Wash- 
ington Springs are situated one and one-half miles from Glade Springs 
in a lovely and healthful spot amid the mountains, and are regarded as 
having valuable medicinal and curative properties. There are four dis- 
tinct varieties of the water, the most effective being the Alum, Chaly- 
beate, and the White Sulphur Springs. 

Population of the county, census of 1910, 32,830. 
Abingdon, the county seat. 

This county was formed in 1653 from Northumber- 
land, and is situated in the northeast portion of the 
WESTMORELAND State on the lower Potomac river, fifty-five miles 
northeast from Richmond. Its average length is 
thirty miles, width ten miles. It contains an area 
of 245 square miles, and a population by last census of 9,313. 

The surface is generally level, but hilly in some portions. Soil light 
loam on river bottoms, stiffer clay on uplands, and easy of cultivation. 
Farm products are corn, wheat, millet, rye, clover, and peas for hay. 
Potatoes, sweet and Irish, do well, and the raising of clover seed for 
market is a considerable industry. Orchard grass and timothy are suc- 
cessfully grown. Fruits of the various varieties, such as apples, peaches, 
pears, plums, strawberries, etc., grow well, and several canneries are lo- 
cated in the county. The climate and soil is especially adapted to the 
raising of vegetables, and trucking is becoming quite an important in- 
dustry. The numerous creeks and inlets along the Potomac boundary 
abound in the finest of fish, oysters and wild fowl. There are large nat- 
ural oyster beds on these tidal waters, and the srecies of fish obtained 
embrace trout, rock, herring, shad and perch, which are caught by nets, 
traps and seines. 

This county enjoys the proud distinction of having been the birth- 
place of two of the Presidents of the United States — George Washington 
and James Monroe — besides another no less honored and distinguished 
Virginian, General R. E. Lee. Montross, the county seat, is an ancient 
town of some imrortance, located near the southern border, six miles dis- 
tant from landings on both Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, with which 
there is daily mail communication. There has recently been erected a 
handsome new courthouse and clerk's office. 

This county was formed in 1856 from Russell, Lee and 
Scott, and named in honor of Henry A. Wise, then gov- 
WISE. ernor. It is situated in the great Cumberland range, in 

the extreme southwestern portion of the State, 380 miles 
from Richmond, and is bounded on the north by the 
State of Kentucky. It contains an area of 413 square miles (under culti- 
vation, twenty-five per cent.). 

The surface is hilly and mountainous. Soil mostly sandy. 

Farm products are corn, rye, oats, millet, potatoes and sorghum, 

and the lands are also very well adanted to the groAvina: of vegetables 

and fruits. All the products of the farm find a readv and remunerative 

sale with the numerous and extensive mining operations in the county. 




ih 




Hand Booh of Virginia 171 



Transportation facilities are very good, embracing the Louisville and 
Nashville and Norfolk and Western, and Virginia and Southwestern rail- 
roads. The South and Western, and the Virginia and Southeastern are 
important lines now being constructed into the county. There are six 
short independent lines in the county, used principally as feeders for the 
mineral interests of the county, which are various and valuable, and 
destined to make it one of the wealthiest counties in the State. 

The most important minerals are iron ores and coal (bituminous, 
splint and cannel). Limestone and sandstone for building and other 
purposes are of very superior quality and abundant, the latter being very 
cheaply quarried and made ready for use in any desired shape or size. 
Iron is found in large deposits, especially in the neighborhood of Big 
Stone Gap, in the southwest portion of the county. Here, in close proxi- 
mity to each other, are iron ore, limestone and coal, and few localities 
are more favorably situated for the manufacture of iron. Since the 
construction of convenient transportation facilities, these ores are be- 
ing largely developed and mined, and extensively worked by the furnaces 
here in operation. But its great wealth consists in its immense de- 
posits of coal, having the greatest amount of valuable bituminous and 
cannel coal to be found in any county of the State, the industrial value 
of which can scarcely be overestimated. In fact, there are few areas of 
like size and value in this particular to be found in the world. Since 
the building of railroads through the county, rapid progress has been 
made here in the coal and coke industry. From year to year new mines 
are being opened, and coke plants constructed, until this county has 
become a hive of industry, teeming with thousands of laborers; and 
the indications point to the establishment here of some of the largest 
collieries and coke plants in the United States. 

The manufacturing enterprises of note are iron furnaces and found- 
ries, grist, saw and planing mills, a silicon brick plant, a large tannery, 
and an extract plant at Big Stone Gap. Climate healthful and invigo- 
rating, average temperature fifty-five degrees, rainfall about fifty-four 
inches. Water fairly good. 

Total population, census of 1910, 34,162. 

Wise, the county seat, is located near the center of the county, five 

miles from Norton, the junction of the Clinch Valley division of the 

Norfolk and Western railroad and the Louisville and Nashville railroad. 

This county was formed from Montgomery in 1790. It 

is located west of the Blue Ridge, in the southwest por- 

WYTHE tion of the State, 270 miles southwest from Richmond, 
in the midst of the great mining and grazing section. 
It contains an area of 474 square miles, one-half being 
under cultivation. Lands vary much in price as they do in value. 

The surface is varied, alternately mountain and valley. Several 
mountain ranges traverse the county, mainly from northeast to south- 
west, between which lie extensive and very fertile valleys, notably Reed 
creek, Cripple creek, and headwaters of Holston on the west, forming 
an elevated plateau of high tableland from east to west. These valleys 
contain blue grass and farming lands of a high order that are scarcely 
surpassed in the State. 

The staple crops are corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, millet and hay, 
abundant yields of which are produced. Fruits and vegetables of vari- 
ous kinds are successfully grown, and these industries are receiving in- 
creased attention every year, and in portions of the county constitute 
a very important and profitable source of revenue to the farmers, lor 
which there is always a ready cash market. The raising of cabbage, 
Irish potatoes and apples in the western part of the county is becoming 
quite an industry. These products are mostly shipped to the southern 




A six-year-old Virginia winesap apple tree doing its best. 



Hand Book of Virginia 173 



markets and bring remunerative prices. Being situated between tbe 
Nortti and the South gives this location an unusual advantage in disposi- 
tion of her products. The cabbage industry has built up an important 
business center at Rural Retreat, with good hotels, banks, mercantile 
houses, etc., which attracts much attention in the wholesale vegetable 
market. 

The United States Fish Hatchery, three and a half miles west of 
Wythevile, is quite an important enterprise in the county, and is rapidly 
stocking the waters of the State with the best varieties of fish. 

Agriculture is carried to its highest perfection in this county in the 
department of grazing, and in this respect it is scarcely excelled in the 
State. Its cattle, sheep and horse products are immensely remunerative, 
much of the former being exported and commanding the highest prices. 
Transportation facilities are excellent, furnished by the Norfolk and 
Western railroad, passing through the heart of the county, and the Cripple 
Creek branch of the Norfolk and Western railroad extesiding into the 
great mining region of the southeastern portion of the county; also a 
branch of the latter ten or twelve miles into a rich mineral section, 
developing the celebrated Cripple Creek iron ores. 

This is one of the richest counties in the State in the variety, quality 
and extent of its minerals, and in their development the county is luaking 
rapid strides toward a position of commercial importance Y,'eL calcu- 
lated to excite the just pride of her citizens. Alternating with each other 
on the south side of the county are wonderful veins and deposits of iron 
ores, manganese ores, and lead and zinc ores of extraordinary purity; 
while in the northern half of the county fine magnetic and brown iron 
ores are abundant. These minerals have been developed and found to 
exist in immense quantities, and are being worked on a large scale in 
different sections of the county, the large works affording an excellent 
home market for the products of the farm. There are various mineral 
waters in the county, the principal of which are its many alum-chalybeate 
springs, also the arsenic bromo-lithia springs, which are fast coming into 
favor and are of high medicinal virtue. 

Total population, 20,372. 

Wytheville, the chief town and county seat, is a pretty and nourish- 
ing place, is situated near the center of the county and is 2,360 feet above 
the sea level. 

This county was one of the original shires Into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. It was first known as 

YORK Charles county, but changed to York in 1642. It lies 

fifty miles south by east of Richmond. It is thirty 
miles long with a mean breadth of five miles, and con- 
tains an area of 124 square miles, one-lialf of which is in cultivation. 
Lands have advanced in price in the past ten years about forty per cent., 
and near Yorktown about sixty per cent. 

The surface is level, the soil varying from a light loam in the south 
to a clay in the north, and generally of a good quality. 

Farm products are corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, etc. Considerable 
fruit of the various varieties is grown, and melons in great abundance. 
The York and other streams abound in the finest of oysters, and this is 
the leading money product of the county; also fish of every variety are 
in abundance. These and truck farming constitute the county's most 
profitable industries. Some portions of the county are very well adapted 
to stock raising, especially sheep. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad passes through the south\yest 
border of the county, and a survey has been made for a railroad from 
Yorktown to Hampton, which, if built, will be a great benefit to the 
county. 

Water courses are numerous. Besides Chesapeako bay, York, Poquo- 



Hand BooJc of Virginia 175 



son and Black rivers, there are numerous navigable creeks, all of whicli 
afford excellent shipping facilities. 

Population, census of 1910, 7,757. 

Yorktown, the county seat, is located on York river near its mouth, 
thirty-three miles from Norfolk and seventy miles from Richmond. 
While a town of limited population and advantages, it possesses a his- 
toric interest second to none other in the confines of our great coun- 
try, as having been the scene of the closing conflict for American in- 
dependence, where, on October 19, 1781, the army of Cornwallis sur- 
rendered to the combined armies of America and Prance, which notable 
event was a century later commemorated by the erection by the govern- 
ment, near the spot, of an imposing monument, ninety-seven feet in 
height, adorned with patriotic devices and inscriptions, and pronounced 
by travelers to be the handsomest monument in the world. This county 
was also the scene of the first battle of the late war, fought at Big 
Bethel, as well as the last battle of the Revolution, fought at Yorktown. 

"The Moore House," on Temple farm, lying in. a peninsula formed 
by York river, Waverly creek and Mill Pond, one mile east of Yorktown, 
Is another precious relic of our past history, noted as the place of capitu- 
lation of the army of Cornwallis to the armies of Washington, Lafayette 
and Rochambeau. The house is still occupied as a residence, and stands 
about fifty feet above York river, commanding a beautiful view of the 
Chesapeake bay, Yorktown monument and quaint old YorktovYn. All 
along the York river are beautiful residential sites, 1 reezy the year 
round, and overlooking the placid blue waters of the broad river. 

Other towns in the county are Grafton and Poquoson, and the 
branches of the Peninsula Bank are located at these points, indicating 
the demands of a growing business in this section. 



A«** 




Fast Friends. 




THE LUSCIOUS VIRGINIA PEACH. 



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Presses of Southern Ptg. Co., Inc. 
\V. H. Adams, Binder. 



